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Vanessa Lachey: I ‘Listen a Lot More’ and ‘Don’t Speak Up’ With Maks Chmerkovskiy on ‘Dancing With the Stars’

Vanessa Lachey and Maks Chmerkovskiy
Vanessa Lachey and Maks Chmerkovskiy

Vanessa Lachey is happy to sit back and learn from Dancing With the Stars pro partner Maks Chmerkovskiy. “I just know that when I’m on set he’s my coach and I’m the student, so I listen a lot more and I don’t speak up as much because this is a field I don’t know,” Lachey, 36, told Us Weekly exclusively on Tuesday, October 3, after attending the L.O.L Surprise Party in Hollywood the weekend before. “He’s trained me and taught me so many amazing wonderful new things just like any trainer would or teacher would.”

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The former TRL VJ quipped: “But at home I think I’m a lot more outspoken!”

As previously reported, the partners have reportedly had tension on set of the ABC competition series. “There is a lot of fighting going on behind the scenes,” a source recently told Us. “Their personalities are very similar so they disagree about everything. They refuse to give into one another.” The pro mysteriously skipped out on the show’s Monday, October 2, episode due to a “personal issue,” but tweeted the next day that he was excited to get back onto the dance floor with Lachey.

Vanessa Lachey and Nick Lachey pose at ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" Season 5 cast announcement event at Planet Hollywood Times Square on September 6, 2017 in New York City.
Vanessa Lachey and Nick Lachey pose at ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” Season 5 cast announcement event at Planet Hollywood Times Square on September 6, 2017 in New York City.

However, competing against husband Nick Lachey, (the singer is partnered with Chmerkovskiy’s wife, Peta Murgatroyd) has only helped the couple’s romance when they leave the ballroom. “Our relationship is still the same if not stronger,” Vanessa told Us. “We’ve been together for 11 years now, so through this we’re supporting each other and it’s fun to come home to somebody who understands what you’re going through.”

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“It’s been an amazing experience,” the TV personality continued. “At the end of it all I hope we can have a killer dance routine to embarrass our kids at every single school function!”

Host Vanessa Lachey and daughter Brooklyn Elisabeth Lachey attend the launch of L.O.L. Surprise! Big Surprise and world's first unboxing video booth on September 29, 2017 in Los Angeles, California.
Host Vanessa Lachey and daughter Brooklyn Elisabeth Lachey attend the launch of L.O.L. Surprise! Big Surprise and world’s first unboxing video booth on September 29, 2017 in Los Angeles, California.

Still, the grueling routines have taken a toll on the couple. “It’s definitely harder than we expected because not only is there a physical element to it, but there’s an emotional element to it,” Vanessa explained. “You definitely are giving a lot of yourself. I realize that this is the most vulnerable I’ve ever been both physically and emotionally. But it’s an amazing experience for me to learn more about myself as a woman a mother, a wife and a friend.”

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