Mauricio Umansky & 'DWTS' Partner Emma Slater Hold Hands on Date

Mauricio Umansky might have turned his dance partner into a real-life romantic partner -- 'cause he's out here looking real cozy with Emma Slater ... or so it seems.

The 'Real Housewives' star -- who's currently separated from his estranged wife, Kyle Richards -- hit up a restaurant in Bev Hills Sunday night with Emma ... who he's sharing screen time with right now during his stint on "Dancing With the Stars" as her celeb plus-1.

Welp, it looks like they're taking their ballroom connection into the outside world -- that is, if these photos on their face are to be believed -- 'cause the 'DWTS' pair walked away from their one-on-one dinner hand in hand, coming across awfully couple-y.

No other signs of PDA between 'em that we can see ... but this feels telling on its own.

Mauricio and Emma have actually been hanging out a lot lately -- dressing up for Halloween as recently as last week. So, yeah ... they've been chummy for a good while now.

Now, our sources with direct knowledge tell us the hand-holding was spurred on by a deep convo the duo had over dinner -- namely discussing their upcoming dance on this week's episode. We're told the theme is "most important year of your life" -- and Mauricio opened up to Emma about why 1996 was so pivotal for him.

Our sources say Mauricio actually revealed a lot to Emma last night on this topic -- '96 was the year he and Kyle married, he was fired from the fashion industry and he pivoted to real estate -- and we're told that, as a result, they felt far more connected and closer than ever ... which, we suppose, explains why they looked like this while exiting.

As for whether this is blossoming into a romance ... the sources couldn't say one way or another.

Of course, there's been tons of speculation about Mauricio and Kyle, whose marriage has come under a microscope this year amid KR's friendship with Morgan Wade.

Kyle has long insisted they're simply partners on a project right now ... as Kyle is producing a documentary on Morgan's life -- but some have still suggested a romance might be afoot.

Meanwhile ... Mauricio and Kyle haven't really cut each other out of their respective lives. They've gone on vacation together with the rest of their family -- and have hung out on a number of occasions for holiday get-togethers and the like. It's been ... interesting.