Britt Stewart & Daniel Durant: Communication, Connection, and a First Year Built on Understanding

When Britt Stewart and Daniel Durant stepped onto the Dancing with the Stars ballroom floor together in autumn 2022, they had no idea they were beginning the most important partnership of their lives. What started as a celebrity‑pro pairing grew into a love story defined by listening, learning, and speaking to each other in ways few relationships ever do. Now, celebrating their first wedding anniversary, they are sharing the beautiful truth at the centre of everything they have built.

Partners First, Soulmates Forever

Season 31 of Dancing with the Stars brought together two extraordinary people from different worlds. Britt Stewart was already a trailblazer: the first Black female professional dancer in the show’s history, with a career that spanned Disney’s High School Musical trilogy, Katy Perry’s Prismatic World Tour, and years of guiding celebrities across the dance floor. Daniel Durant was an acclaimed actor, celebrated for his role in CODA and deeply proud of his Deaf identity. He was born deaf; American Sign Language is his native tongue.

For Stewart, the assignment carried immediate weight. “When I met him and found out he was my partner, immediately I was like, ‘I must learn ASL because I’m teaching him how to dance. I’m not going to use his interpreter,’” she recalled. That instinct wasn’t just professional it was personal. She wanted to know him, not through someone else’s words, but through his.

The pair finished fifth in the competition, but the real victory happened off‑camera. As the weeks unfolded, Durant found himself thinking of her constantly. “I couldn’t imagine not seeing Britt when the competition ended,” he admitted. “In that moment, we realized what we felt was more than friends.” They confirmed their relationship on Valentine’s Day 2023, announced their engagement that December, and on August 23, 2025, were married surrounded by family, friends, and many from the DWTS community who had watched their story unfold.

"I Must Learn His Language"

Communication is often cited as the key to any strong relationship, but for Stewart and Durant, it took on entirely new meaning. Stewart didn’t just pick up a few phrases she immersed herself in ASL, determined to meet him in his world. It was an act of love as much as an act of will.

“I learned his language,” she told PEOPLE. “We have this beautiful communication between us that holds our relationship together.” What began as a practical necessity became their greatest gift to each other. They share everything: the quiet moments, the busy days, the hard conversations, the joyful ones always in ways that feel natural, direct, and deeply theirs. Even when apart and their careers keep them apart often they stay connected. “We just communicate as much as we possibly can. We share everything. Even if we’re not in the same place, we just share life.”

From the Ballroom to a Lifetime Together

Their wedding was a reflection of who they are: intentional, inclusive, and profoundly heartfelt. Vows were spoken and signed, weaving two languages into one promise. It was a celebration not just of their love, but of their ability to bridge worlds and build something new together. Stewart described the day as one they “got to share with a lot of the Dancing with the Stars pros and that family” a reminder of how much their journey began, and continues, within a community that became home.

One Year Later: Beautiful, Steady, Intentional

Reflecting at The Hollywood Reporter’s Creators A‑List Party on October 21, Stewart still sounds awestruck by how quickly the year has passed. “I couldn’t believe how fast the year has gone,” she said. And yet, the most wonderful surprise is how much has stayed the same. “Honestly, not much has changed in our relationship which I hear is a good thing.”

She describes these past 12 months as a “whirlwind” both travel frequently for work, balancing schedules that never fully align. But through it all, Durant remains her calm. “Daniel makes everything so easy,” she shared simply. That ease comes from being deliberate: “We are very intentional with our relationship because we do spend a lot of time apart.” They don’t let distance create distance; they choose connection, daily, in small and meaningful ways.

The Greatest Lesson of All

If one truth has emerged above all others, it is this: love is not enough you must also show up, fully and clearly. Stewart puts it plainly: “The biggest thing we’ve learned from the past year and from our relationship as a whole is communication.”

For them, it isn’t about talking more it’s about understanding deeply. It’s about learning a language so someone never has to feel misunderstood. It’s about sharing the mundane and the monumental equally. It’s about ensuring that no matter where they are in the world, they are never truly out of reach.

As they step into year two, their promise remains simple: keep listening, keep sharing, and keep meeting each other exactly where they are. They have proven that when you speak each other’s language whatever form that takes there is nothing you cannot build together.