Maksim Chmerkovskiy says that any prior drama between him and his Dancing With the Stars partner, Vanessa Lachey, is now nonexistent.
The reality star, 37, and wife Peta Murgatroyd spoke with reporters before heading into the Maxim Halloween party in Los Angeles on Saturday, October 21, where the Ukranian choreographer was asked about his short-lived feud with Lachey.
“What drama?” Chmerkovskiy coyly responded. “[Things] were never bad. They were great things. It’s been a great season.”
“It’s a tough show. Everybody’s going through a little bit of a menial lifetime through this whole process, and when you’re good enough to make it all the way, you go through that much more stuff. We’re a great couple. We’re doing our best,” he continued. “She’s giving me all the time that she should and I can’t wait for this Monday to show what we’ve been working on.”
Chmerkovskiy and Lachey are competing against their spouses, Murgatroyd and Nick Lachey, who are paired up together.
As Us Weekly exclusively revealed, the partnership between Lachey, 36, and the professional dancer was “not going well”, according to a source. Amid the tension, Chmerkovskiy skipped the Monday, October 2, episode of the ABC ballroom competition, citing an undisclosed “personal issue.” He later publicly apologized to the former Total Request Live cohost, tweeting, “As you are all aware, I had to leave the show last week to take care of some personal issues. I take full responsibility for my absence and want to apologize to my partner Vanessa.”
“They’re playing nice for the cameras but both are miserable paired with each other,” a source told Us at the time.
Another insider confirmed that the two had moved on from their issues, telling Us earlier this month, “Things are good. It’s water under the bridge. Things are returning to normal. The insider added, “Maks has apologized to her and they both look forward to having a much more positive relationship moving forward.”
The dance partners went on to wow judges on the Monday, October 9, episode where they performed an emotional rumba in tribute to Lachey’s 9-month-old son, Phoenix, who was born prematurely last December.
Dancing With the Stars airs on ABC Mondays at 8 p.m. ET.
