Dancing Stars React to Latest On-set Romance!

The couple tried to keep the romance a secret, but the cat was let out of the bag when on April 17 pictures surfaced of them kissing on the beach in Malibu, California. "Their relationship came as a surprise to me because we don't really see the other couples except on show days," says Dancing pro Edyta Sliwinska. "But it was a nice surprise. It's very cute."

"I think it's great," adds Hough's best friend and roommate, Mark Ballas. "Derek is so private about all those things. He still hasn't told me that it's official. But whenever they're together, it seems like they're having a great time. And they're putting on a great show."

Marissa Jaret Winokur isn't at all surprised by the liaison. "Either you're going to love, love, love your partner or you're going to hate them," she says. "Dancing, way more than singing or acting, is 10 times more physical. If a man that I had a crush on said, 'That looks sexy,' forget it! I think that's why so many people do hook up on this show. You become so comfortable, and you spend so many hours touching each other. How could it not become physical if you're not going home to someone — your significant other — to really touch?"

"I'm not shocked they're a real couple," adds Winokur. "I'm shocked that there's only one [off-stage couple] this season." Winokur also was startled when she was reminded of the age difference between Elizabeth and Hough, who's all of 22. "Is he really?" she marvels. "And she's 34? I didn't know that. But it's all about the dancing. He sure doesn't dance like a 22-year-old."

Interviewed just days before the kissing pictures surfaced, Elizabeth spoke about her partner in glowing terms. "We don't need to create chemistry," she said. "It just happens. We have very similar personalities. We have the same sense of humor. He's seen me without makeup, without these [fancy] dresses. He's seen me be really, really gross."

Asked if she would mind if romance rumors began to swirl around the pair, Elizabeth previously said, "My boyfriend would. But I could do worse." (Before the Dancing season kicked off, Elizabeth identified her beau as Brent, an eighth-grade math teacher.) Elizabeth and Hough have already weathered some ups and downs: Hough has been sent to the hospital twice, for a neck injury and possible food poisoning. Elizabeth even had to practice with another pro, Jonathan Roberts, in the crucial hours leading up to a performance. And though Elizabeth appreciates Roberts' skills, she says Hough is her perfect partner. "Derek and I were like instant best friends," she says. "It's happened a lot where he knows what I'm thinking and I haven't said a word."

So she doesn't mind that this season has been an emotional roller-coaster, almost losing Derek twice? "We're not just about a dance," says Elizabeth. "We're about a whole story."

A bigger story than we knew.