Are ‘DWTS: The Next Pro’ Contestants Briar Nolet & Erik Linder Dating?
Finding love in the ballroom is not out of the ordinary for the pro dancers on Dancing With the Stars. Several cast members met and fell in love on the show and even went on to get married.
Now, a duo from Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro has sparked speculation that their future is headed in the same direction. Since April, Briar Nolet and Erik Linder have been posting steamy dance videos together, leading fans to wonder about the status of their relationship.
Briar spilled all on The Joe Vulpis Podcast following her elimination in the show’s premiere episode (Erik is still in the competition to become the next pro on DWTS Season 35). Scroll down for everything we know.
Are Briar Nolet and Erik Linder dating?
Yes, Briar and Erik are officially dating. She referred to him as her “boyfriend” in the interview.
“Erik, my boyfriend, is the opposite of me,” she said. “He is, and you’ll see on the show, he’s, like, chill dude. He is, like, cool dude, Mr. Chill. He can perform when he performs, but as a person, his personality is very calm, which is great because I’m so up here that he very much grounds me.”
@iheartbriarnolet we love Erik!! what a nice guy! @Linder @Briar Nolet #briarnolet #poscast #couplegoals #eriklinder ♬ original sound – briar nolet fanpage
Briar said this “brought a lot of balance” to her life that she didn’t have before this year.
How did Briar Nolet and Erik Linder meet?
Erik and Briar met on The Next Pro. She confirmed during the podcast interview that she didn’t know him before they filmed the show in early 2026.
Their first interaction was when Erik DMed her and asked, “Are you going to Australia?” where The Next Pro was filmed. “I was like, ‘Who is this person?’ But I also knew that not a lot of people knew it was being filmed in Australia, so I was like, if he’s asking, he probably is,” she continued.
Since Erik lived in Florida, he told Briar, who lives in Los Angeles, that he wanted to ask her a few questions. “I feel like when you live in L.A. you’re a little more in the know,” she explained, adding that she “probably had more details on the show than he did.”
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Briar decided to give Erik her phone number, then missed two calls from him in the middle of the night. They eventually connected and got to talking from there, FaceTiming and sending voice memos until they left for filming.
Upon arriving in Australia, they were separated into their own rooms, but kept in contact via FaceTime and text until they were told they weren’t supposed to be interacting with one another. They saw each other at the breakfast buffet, but couldn’t speak. It wasn’t until a few days later that they officially met for the first time on-camera, although that didn’t air on the show.
Once Erik’s journey on the show ended, he asked Briar if he could fly to L.A. and take her on a date, which he did. “It just kind of blossomed from there,” she gushed.
What happened between Briar Nolet and Myles Erlick?
Briar previously dated Myles Erlick, her costar on Canada’s The Next Step, from 2014 to 2022. They were love interests on the show, which aired from 2013 to 2025.
There have been many rumors about why Briar and Myles’ relationship ended, but they have not addressed the speculation or given a reason for the breakup.
Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro, Mondays, 8/7c, ABC
