Maksim Chmerkovskiy learned the horizontal tango at a young age — and from a much older teacher. During an appearance on The Meredith Vieira Show on Tuesday, Jan. 20, the former Dancing With the Stars pro revealed the surprising way he lost his virginity as a teenager.
"I know that I was a late bloomer. For me, it was 16," the now-35-year-old ballroom dance champion told Vieira of his first time having sex.
When she noted that 16 didn't seem that "late" to her, he referred to fellow guest Mario Lopez, who admits in his new memoir that he lost his virginity when he was 12 years old.
"According to Mario Lopez, I'm like a nun," Chmerkovskiy quipped. Then, alluding to Lopez's explanation that people grow up more quickly "in the hood," the season 18 DWTS winner said, "I grew up in the inner city, as well, you know, the outskirts of Coney Island in Brooklyn. I know what he's saying. You know, things progress a lot faster."
He continued: "Honestly, I think whatever the situation is, as long as it's wholesome and as long as it's right, you know, it's still an experience you look back at and say, 'I was an idiot, but it was awesome.'"
So what, exactly, made it so awesome? His partner, for one. "[My first time] was with a supermodel that ended up lying about her age," he told Vieira, who said her own first time was decidedly not awesome.
Chmerkovskiy didn't name the supermodel, but he did say she was in her 30s at the time, which would have been around 1996. "I swear to God, she was about 10 years older than she said, and it made her into, like, early 30s," he elaborated. "And it was amazing."
Tell Us: Which supermodel might Maks be referring to? Leave your guesses below!
