Can’t say they didn’t try. Gleb Savchenko revealed that he and his estranged wife, Elena Samodanova, tried to save their relationship many times before officially calling it quits.
“We tried to make it work. There were several times we broke up, we lived separately for a little bit,” the Dancing With the Stars pro, 37, told Jana Kramer during the Monday, June 7, episode of her “Whine Down” podcast.
He continued, “I tried my best to make it work, she tried her best to make it work. … When the energy is not there, there’s really nothing — just kids — holding you together. That becomes the end.”
The dancers, who share daughters Olivia, 10, and Zlata, 3, revealed in November 2020 that they were splitting after 14 years of marriage. Soon after, their divorce became messy when the Sharknado actress, 36, accused Savchenko of having an affair during their marriage as rumors swirled that he’d cheated on her with his DWTS partner Chrishell Stause.
“While I will continue to respect the privacy of my family, I will not stand by and allow false accusations and internet rumors go unaddressed,” he told Us Weekly in a November 2020 statement. “My relationship with Chrishell was and remains strictly platonic. Our friendship during our season on DWTS was not the reason for our split. Elena and I have had longstanding issues in our marriage. This has been an ongoing situation between Elena and I paired with poor timing.”
During his podcast appearance on Monday, Savchenko talked to the 37-year-old One Tree Hill alum — who is going through a high-profile divorce of her own — about his feelings for his now ex.
“I love Elena and have a huge respect for her. Of course, she’s the mother of my kids. So it’s hard at times because no one’s perfect,” he said. “You have to communicate. … When [the split [s] in its early stage, it’s hard to do because you can’t stand each other. You’re like, ‘I don’t want to see your ass at all.’”
The TV personality doesn’t think he made the right or wrong choice by going through with a divorce at last.
“It’s not about making the right choice. It just happens. Whatever’s supposed to happen, happens,” he said. “It’s not like one day you wake up and think, ‘I don’t want to be with this person anymore,’ and that’s it. … It [was] a long time coming. There were a lot of issues we were going through.”
Samodanova opened up to Us about the split in February, noting that what’s done is done and she’s “moving forward” now.
“He’s been served the final paperwork and there’s no looking back,” she said at the time. “As I’ve been saying all along, my only concern and focus right now is the happiness and safety of my daughters. I wish Gleb and all his girlfriends well.”
Two months later, the estranged couple tried to make their divorce proceedings more cordial when they took their daughters on vacation to Cabo.
“Gleb, Elena and their daughters are soaking up the sun on a family vacation in Cabo,” a source exclusively told Us in April. “Initially, it was supposed to be a vacation with just the girls and Gleb, but Gleb had reached out to Elena to join them. … “They are trying to make things more pleasant for their daughters and handle everything as adults and no longer approach their issues with an argument.”
