‘DWTS’: Vanessa Lachey Opens Up About Dancing With Maksim Chmerkovskiy After Feud

Vanessa Lachey is speaking out after her first Dancing with the Stars dance with professional partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy following rumors of a nasty feud which surfaced last week.

Vanessa opened up about returning to the dancefloor with Maks on October 9 – after he was noticeably absent from last week’s show – and admitted in a new interview following their latest performance that she was actually worried she wouldn’t be able to get through their most recent dance.

But despite the emotions involved, Nick Lachey’s wife claimed that, despite their drama and reported feud behind the scenes, Chmerkovskiy is actually the one who got her through it and always has her back.

“We know what the week is, and that is what dance is,” Vanessa told Entertainment Tonight after performing an emotional dance for the “Most Memorable Year” theme, admitting that she was worried she wouldn’t be able to return to the ballroom this week.

“It is literally speaking emotion through movement, and I was worried I wasn’t going to be able to do it,” she then continued of her emotional performance, which was inspired by the birth of her and husband Nick’s – who’s competing with Maksim’s wife Peta Murgatroyd – third child, their son, 10-month-old Phoenix.

But despite feeling emotional, Lachey then revealed how Chmerkovskiy helped her get through the incredibly personal dance, despite various reports of drama and a feud between the two.

“I know I’ve got this guy literally standing there, and he’s got my back,” she said, gesturing to Chmerkovskiy following their much-anticipated return to the DWTS ballroom. “I just looked over and grabbed on and was like, ‘We got this.'”

“[Maks] is a great teacher, and I listen as the student ’cause this is not something I do – ballroom dance,” continued Lachey, seemingly hinting at the recent round of feud reports that suggested their personalities were seriously clashing behind the scenes.

Though she didn’t explicitly address the allegations of drama between herself and her Dancing with the Stars partner, various outlets claimed she and Maksim have been locked in a feud after he failed to turn up to dance with Lachey during last week’s show.

A source alleged to E! News at the time that the two have very conflicting personalities and were not getting along at all in rehearsals, which is why Maksim skipped out on dancing with Vanessa last week and instead left her to dance with stand-in Alan Bersten.

The DWTS insider noted that there was serious “friction” between Lachey and Chmerkovskiy and alleged that they were finding it very difficult to “find middle ground” while rehearsing together.

“Their personalities have completely clashed and they really don’t get along off set,” they then added of the DWTS feud drama.

People also claimed that Vanessa and Maks were caught in a feud and were not getting along behind the scenes, putting the tension down to bad “chemistry.”

“There’s a big chemistry issue,” said the outlet’s DWTS insider at the time. “They both have big personalities and that’s not always the best recipe for a good partnership.”

Neither officially confirmed the feud rumors beyond Vanessa’s hint, though Maksim publicly apologized to Vanessa for not attending the October 3 show the day after and cited a “personal issue” as the reason for his Dancing with the Stars live show absence.

“I take full responsibility for my absence and want to apologize to my partner Vanessa,” he tweeted. “We are both looking forward to dancing for our fans next week!”

Dancing with the Stars Season 25 airs on Monday nights on ABC.

[Featured Image by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Entertainment Weekly]