Meet ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Pro Gleb Savchenko and Elena Samodanova’s Adorable Baby Girl Zlata (Exclusive)

Credit: Serge Linnik

Meet 'Dancing With the Stars' Pro Gleb Savchenko and Elena Samodanova's Adorable Baby Girl Zlata

Most expectant dads would panic if they were stuck in the air for 15 hours while their wife was in labor. Gleb Savchenko just felt excited. “I wasn’t freaking out, but I couldn’t wait to get there,” he tells Us Weekly's Carly Sloane. “You try to put yourself in the zone like, ‘OK — you can’t do anything on a plane!’” 

On tour for Dancing With the Stars, the Moscow native hopped on the first available plane from Los Angeles to Sydney (the family splits their time between the two cities) as soon as Elena Samodanova, his wife of 11 years, called. By the time Savchenko landed, hundreds of messages had already flooded his phone to congratulate him on his bundle of joy. 

Now the couple introduces Us Weekly to their new daughter, Zlata, who made her debut at 10:26 p.m. August 1.

Credit: Serge Linnik

Meet 'Dancing With the Stars' Pro Gleb Savchenko and Elena Samodanova's Adorable Baby Girl Zlata

Most expectant dads would panic if they were stuck in the air for 15 hours while their wife was in labor. Gleb Savchenko just felt excited. “I wasn’t freaking out, but I couldn’t wait to get there,” he tells Us Weekly's Carly Sloane. “You try to put yourself in the zone like, ‘OK — you can’t do anything on a plane!’” 

On tour for Dancing With the Stars, the Moscow native hopped on the first available plane from Los Angeles to Sydney (the family splits their time between the two cities) as soon as Elena Samodanova, his wife of 11 years, called. By the time Savchenko landed, hundreds of messages had already flooded his phone to congratulate him on his bundle of joy. 

Now the couple introduces Us Weekly to their new daughter, Zlata, who made her debut at 10:26 p.m. August 1.

Credit: Serge Linnik

Father Love

“I was standing in the airport getting my luggage and it was a mix of feelings,” said the 33-year-old choreographer of the moment he found out his daughter had arrived. “I was emotional and so happy.”

Credit: Serge Linnik

Big Sister Olivia

As thrilled as the adults were, there’s one other person whose enthusiasm trumps them both — and that’s Zlata's older sister Olivia. “She told me she’s going to teach her how to speak Russian and sing her songs,” said Samodanova of her 6-year-old.

Credit: Serge Linnik

Gleb and His Girls

While Savchenko doesn’t mind being outnumbered by girls for now, he’s game to keep trying for a son. Mom, however, may need more convincing. “When I said to Elena, ‘Let’s do another one!’ she looked at me like, ‘Are you crazy?’ ” he confessed. “So I think we’ll wait a bit, and if it’s a girl again, we’ll try for a fourth.” But according to Samodanova, “Three is definitely the right number.”

Credit: Serge Linnik

Family Bonding

“Zlata is an old, unique Russian name that means golden,” explained Savchenko.   

Credit: Serge Linnik

Elena and Olivia

The couple let big sis Olivia take the lead in decorating Zlata's nursery. Said Samodanova, "Olivia was the one who picked everything. We are planning to move into a new house soon so haven't really spent a lot of time setting up a nursery, but definitely when we move into a new place, Olivia and I will think of something. I'm sure Olivia would love a Hello Kitty theme though!"

Credit: Serge Linnik

Proud Parents

A big part of what keeps their marriage strong is this commitment to compromising and maintaining a united front. Instead of stressing about how to balance their daughters’ schedules with their own, the pair are focused on bonding and taking walks as a family. “We understand and help each other,” said Savchenko. “We have the same goals.” Agreed his wife, “We’re going in the same direction.”