‘DWTS’: Maksim Chmerkovskiy Breaks Silence On Vanessa Lachey Feud
Dancing with the Stars pro Maksim Chmerkovskiy is breaking his silence regarding rumors he and partner Vanessa Lachey are caught in a nasty feud behind the scenes of the ABC dancing show – and he even appears to be joking about all the drama.
The pro, who’s appeared on the series intermittently since 2006, hinted at reports of friction with his partner in a new message where he appeared to confirm that he and the TV host have now buried the hatchet and put an end to their feud.
Maks praised Vanessa in a heartfelt message posted to his Instagram account on October 10 where he gushed over Nick Lachey’s wife for giving an incredibly emotional performance during the October 9 episode of the show.
For the “Most Memorable Year” theme, Lachey and Chmerkovskiy performed a rumba inspired by the emotions she went through after her and Nick’s now 10-month-old son, Phoenix, was born prematurely.
Posting three photos of himself and Lachey on the Dancing with the Stars dancefloor during their most performance, Chmerkovskiy wrote that he was “proud” of his partner and confirmed that the two broke down in tears together before the dance, which Maksim confessed was the first time he’s ever gotten that emotional before taking to the ballroom.
“Everything I ever want for my partners is literally what @vanessalachey has brought to the dance floor,” Maksim wrote on the social media site, calling her incredibly emotional DWTS dance “raw,” “unapologetic,” and full of “real emotion.”
Hinting at the feud rumors that have dominated headlines over the past few days, Maksim then told Vanessa, “I’m proud of you partner!” before appearing to suggest that all their drama is in the past by adding, “They can say what they want but you’re a star and I wouldn’t want to be on this rollercoaster with anyone but you!”
The DWTS star then seemingly made a joke of their feud by adding the hashtag #NeverADullMoment to his post.
Both Chmerkovskiy and Lachey also spoke directly about the feud reports to Access Hollywood this week, where Vanessa confessed that she didn’t “manage” the swirling reports and instead just focused on what they had to do, which is dance.
“[Maks] took a week off and we just kept doing this,” she said, referring to her partner failing to turn up to the DWTS taping on October 2. “Everybody has their ups and downs.”
Lachey also seemingly hinted at drama while speaking to Entertainment Tonight immediately following the dance.
Though she didn’t explicitly reference the feud, she touched on the reports of trouble between herself and the pro and suggested that’s now all over with after admitting that she was learning to listen to Maksim more.
Admitting that she knows the DWTS pro has her back, she added, “[Maks] is a great teacher, and I listen as the student ’cause this is not something I do.”
Chmerkovskiy failed to attend the Dancing with the Stars taping last week and left his partner to dance with Alan Bersten, while host Tom Begeron claimed the professional dancer was absent due to a “personal issue.”
Reports of a nasty feud between the two then heated up as various sources claimed that Maks and Vanessa were not getting along at all while rehearsing together.
People claimed that Maks and Vanessa were caught in a feud and noted that the two both have very “big personalities” that have been clashing and causing some serious friction in the rehearsal room.
“There’s a big chemistry issue,” a DWTS source said. “They both have big personalities and that’s not always the best recipe for a good partnership.”
Dancing with the Stars Season 25 airs on Monday nights on ABC.
[Featured Image by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images and Jason Merritt/Getty Images]
