‘DWTS’ Pro Rylee Arnold Breaks Silence On How An Uber Ride Led Her To Beau Walker Lyons
By Afouda Bamidele on December 27, 2024 at 11:00 AM EST
Rylee Arnold spills serious tea on her meet-cute with her current boyfriend, Walker Lyons.
The talented dancer reminisces on how a lucky twist of fate brought her beau her way right when Los Angeles traffic left her feeling fuzzy and frustrated.
Rylee Arnold and Walker Lyons launched their relationship on Instagram in October and have publicly praised the athlete ever since.
Rylee Arnold Discovered Walker Lyons Through Her Uber Driver
On the Christmas episode of "The Squeeze" podcast, the TV personality made some lovely confessions about meeting her beau for the first time. According to Arnold, everything began with a day that went wrong, thanks to the annoying LA traffic, which left her with no choice but to take an Uber.
She recalled stepping out for a few wardrobe essentials in preparation for an appearance on "Good Morning America." Arnold noted that she was alone and did not have anyone in LA to hang out with since her family and friends were out of town. She explained:
"And I was just like, I don't want a freaking drive right now and try to find parking at a random Mall. And it's Saturday. Like, I'm just not going to do that."
The dancer mentioned running her decision by her mom, who suggested she take an Uber ride, which is how it all started. About how the ride went, Arnold shared:
"I get in this Uber. It's this really nice lady. And we're just like, talking about dance, and she's talking about what she does. And also she was like, 'Okay, this might sound really weird. Don't take this the wrong way.'"
Arnold revealed on the podcast that her driver told her about her "nephew playing USC football," who might get along really well with the dancer. The driver then encouraged the dancer to check out the athlete on Instagram and connect with him if she was interested.
The 19-Year-Old Was Initially Reluctant To Pursue A Romantic Relationship
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Arnold stated that she took the Uber driver's word for it and checked Lyons up. In her words, "I looked him up, and I was like, 'Okay, he's cute.' So at that point, I was like too scared to really do anything about it, and so I was just kind of like put it on my back pocket."
The day ended and by the time she returned home, she completely forgot about what had just happened and focused back on "Dancing with the Stars."
She added that she did not harbor any intense desire to begin a relationship anyway. At the time, juggling love and her hectic schedule seemed like a bad idea, which affected her emotional availability.
Fate, however, had bigger plans, and one day, one of her sisters sent a TikTok video of Lyons to their family group chat, suggesting that she reached out to him for a potential date. With laughter, she said:
"I was like, 'You guys are gonna die right now. Like, I literally was in his aunt's Uber a week ago,' and they're like, 'Riley, like, follow him. Now, follow him now.'"
The Dancer And Her Footballer Beau, Share Numerous Mutual Connections
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Arnold shared that she eventually discovered she and the college footballer have much more in common than his Uber driver aunt.
"And then come to know that my brother-in-law is actually friends with his best friend's dad, and so there's a connection there," the professional dancer declared.
Lyons also knew a lot of the TV personality's friends in Utah. She disclosed that his hometown friends went to school in the same area where she grew up.
"We have a crazy amount of mutuals so the fact we hadn't met before is kind of crazy, but I think we met at the most perfect time in both of our lives," she added.
The "DWTS" star concluded that she caved into the pressure and decided to follow him first on Instagram. She continued:
"So then he followed me back, and he messaged me, and then got my number, and we text for a while, and then he was like, 'Can I take you on a date?' And I was like, 'Of course you can,' That's where it all started."
The Ballroom Pro Raved About The Football Player's Sterling Qualities
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Arnold has only nice things to say about her boyfriend so far, proving that her decision to take a considerable risk and step out of her comfort zone paid off.
Three months ago, The Blast shared in an interview after her Halloween-themed performance on the dance show that she described him as "so sweet."
"He makes me feel so special, and being with him is just so refreshing," she continued. She described how nice it is to work hard and spend quality time with the love of her life at the end of a very hectic day, adding, "It's been really awesome."
On their decision to do an Instagram reveal as a couple, the 19-year-old explained at the time that they have a strong bond in their relationship and felt it was a good decision to share their joy with the rest of the internet.
Inside Rylee Arnold And Walker Lyons Instagram Hard-Launch
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The TV star introduced her athlete beau to the world of social media in super cute slides of them on a very interesting date night and captioned it, "Is this a hard launch?"
The pictures were taken after Lyons' team, the USC Trojans, pulled a fine win against the Rutgers Scarlet Knight on Saturday, October 26, and Arnold was there to cheer her boyfriend to victory.
The new couple could not keep their hands and gazes off each other. As seen in the rest of the photos, they also shared moments of laughter. Arnold previously admitted that their similar schedules in their respective careers have made it seamless for them to spend time supporting each other.
The superstar stated she constantly looks forward to hanging out with Lyons, "I don't know, just kinda crazy that we did a little back-to-back hangout, but I don't mind. I'm getting so excited about getting to know and hanging out with him and, again, just curious to see how it all pans out."
With the adorable story, Rylee Arnold is putting everyone in their feelings in this festive period!