He’s got her back! Nick Lachey is standing by his wife, Vanessa, amid reports of tension between her and her Dancing With the Stars partner, Maksim Chmerkovskiy.
Nick, 43, who is competing on the reality talent show with 37-year-old Chmerkovskiy’s wife, Peta Murgatroyd, has stuck by Vanessa’s side throughout filming. “Nick and Peta are having a great time dancing together. Their partnership has been great,” a source exclusively told Us Weekly. “Nick is a huge support to his wife and is so proud of how hard she’s working at learning to dance.”
Added the insider: “Vanessa has been nothing but professional on set. She has been friendly and upbeat with everyone. She signed up for Dancing With the Stars to learn to dance but more importantly, to have a good time and it shows.”
As previously reported, the one-time Mirrorball champion expressed regret via Twitter after missing his Monday, October 2, Dancing With the Stars performance with Vanessa, 36. “As you are all aware, I had to leave the show last week to take care of some personal issues,” the professional dancer wrote. “I take full responsibility for my absence and want to apologize to my partner Vanessa. We are both looking forward to dancing for our fans next week!”
Chmerkovskiy’s apology came one day after Us exclusively revealed that he and Vanessa’s partnership had “not been going well” behind closed doors. “There is a lot of fighting going on behind the scenes,” an insider told Us of the feud. “Their personalities are very similar so they disagree about everything. They refused to give into one another. They’re playing nice for the cameras but both are miserable paired with each other.”
Despite the tension, the series pro and the television personality will reunite on the Monday, October 9, episode. “Maks and Vanessa are returning to rehearsals and will be dancing together on next week’s show,” a spokesperson for the ABC dance competition told Us.
As for their spouses’ relationship on the show? “Nick and Peta are totally fine,” a source said.
Dancing With the Stars airs on ABC Mondays at 8 p.m. ET.
