Dancing with the Stars pro Sharna Burgess has clapped back at criticism she and boyfriend Brian Austin Green "kiss too much" and are too affectionate with one another on the show.
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Sharna took to Instagram on Monday and posted a slideshow of photos with her celebrity dance partner, Brian, from what appeared to be a stage rehearsal in the Dancing with the Stars ballroom ahead of Monday's "Britney Night" performance show.
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In one of the photos, the pro dancer and Brian were embracing, and Sharna's hands were noticeably around his butt.
"For those that say we kiss too much, here's a full [ass] grab instead," Sharna, 36, captioned the images, changing the word "ass" to a peach emoji.
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After adding a face with tears of joy emoji, Sharna continued on a more serious note, "But for real though, we kissed once in the first show that's it. This isn't a showmance, this is real life love and it's a part of our journey."
Sharna said "every step, every struggle [and] every success" with the 48-year-old actor, whom she began dating in late 2020, is a part of their journey together on Dancing with the Stars' 30th season.
"And anyone that thinks it's an advantage [to be a dating couple in the competition], I can assure you, it's not. ITS SUPER HARD!" Sharna insisted.
"We both wanted to push harder this week because we really want those scores to keep us in the competition, but in the process we had a few moments of feeling hyper sensitive toward each other and struggled to find a happy positive work flow."
It was apparently a difficult choice for Sharna and Brian to even agree to compete on Dancing with the Stars this season to begin with.
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The couple had been "on edge" about Brian's potential casting, knowing it may be challenging to maintain a balance between work and play and not allow stress to bleed into their personal relationship.
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"Coaching your boyfriend is hard, and having your girlfriend be the one to tell you all the sh-t you're doing wrong is also hard," Sharna wrote in her post.
"I am still trying to find balance between how much I love him and how much I love to create and coach for perfection on this show. What I do know is I'm grateful for every second I get on that dance floor with him. What a dream to share this."
Sharna said she and Brian gave their tango on Monday night's show everything they had.
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The pair have been stuck in the bottom half of the judges' leaderboard ever since Dancing with the Stars premiered, and they only earned 19 out of 30 possible points from Dancing with the Stars judges Len Goodman, Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli on this week's show.
Sharna and Brian had therefore tied for twelfth place with NBA champion Iman Shumpert and pro partner Daniella Karagach out of 14 couples.
However, the lovebirds have avoided the bottom-two couples based on scores and home viewer voting and also survived the first two eliminations.
"We need your votes so we can keep growing and learning and dancing with each other in the competition," Sharna concluded her Monday post.
"I'm so proud of you @brianaustingreen, and I'm so grateful for you. Your courage out there and your patience with me... You've done all the hard work and you're ready."
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Sharna and Brian began dating after Brian announced his split from estranged wife and actress Megan Fox in May 2020, but Brian and Sharna attempted to keep their relationship a secret for a little while.
Once the romance became serious, Sharna reportedly met the former Beverly Hills, 90210 star's three sons -- Noah, 8, Bodhi, 7, and Journey, 5 -- whom he shares with Megan as well as his eldest son, Kassius, 18, whom he welcomed with his ex Vanessa Marcil in 2002.
On the premiere of Dancing with the Stars, Sharna and Brian only tied four ninth place on the judges' leaderboard with three other couples, all of whom had received a total score of 24 out of 40 possible points from the three DWTS judges plus Derek Hough.
Brian and Sharna previously told Us Weekly that there was never a discussion for Brian to possibly partner with a different female pro.
"They offered it to [Brian] on the terms we'd be partners. We always were going to be partnered together," Sharna told the magazine last month.
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Dancing with the Stars' 30th season marks Sharna's fourteenth season on the show as a pro partner.
She won the mirrorball trophy one time with celebrity partner Bobby Bones back on Season 27 in 2018.