From Dancing Partners to Real Love: Janel Parrish and Sasha Farber's Unexpected Reunion

Sometimes the best love stories aren’t the ones you see coming. Janel Parrish and Sasha Farber just proved that when they made their red carpet debut together at Nancy Davis’Race to Erase MS Gala on Friday, June 5, twinned in white and glowing with that unmistakable new-relationship energy. But here’s the thing: these two have history that spans over a decade — just not the romantic kind, at least not until recently.

Parrish, 37, met Farber, 42, way back in 2014 when she competed on Dancing With the Stars season 19. She was paired with pro Val Chmerkovskiy and finished in third place, while Farber was performing in the troupe. They became friends, stayed friends, and kept that friendship intact for years. Then, earlier this year, life took an unexpected turn. Parrish separated from her ex-husband Chris Long (their divorce finalized on Monday, June 1), and around the same time, she and Farber reconnected. They started dating in April, and now here they are, ready to tell the world about it.

What’s striking isn’t just that they found romance after years of friendship — it’s how both of them talk about the discovery. Parrish told Us Weekly that reconnecting with Sasha“has shown me a new kind of love and happiness that I didn’t know existed,”and she’s leaning into the philosophy that life’s best chapters are often the ones you don’t anticipate. Farber echoed that sentiment, sharing that no matter what kind of day he’s had, seeing Janel is where he knows he’s meant to be. They’re not hiding it or playing it cool. They’re just fully, openly embracing this unexpected turn.

The Pretty Little Liars actress emphasized in her interview that she’s trying to stay present and follow her joy, rather than worry about what the future holds. And Farber? He’s equally smitten, describing Parrish as sweet, down to earth, real, and wonderfully supportive. He even mentioned that she loves animals and dogs — and anyone who meets her leaves with a smile. That’s the kind of detail that tells you someone’s genuinely in love, not just performing it for the cameras.

Both of them have their own histories with failed marriages (Farber was previously married to DWTS pro Emma Slater, whom he divorced in 2023), but they’re not letting that define this new chapter. Instead, they’re choosing to see their reunion as proof that sometimes life surprises you in the most beautiful ways. In a world where we’re all chasing the next big thing, there’s something genuinely lovely about two people discovering that what they needed was right there the whole time — they just had to go through some life lessons first to be ready for it.