At the top of Monday night’s show, host Dancing with the Stars co-host Erin Andrews informed the audience that pro dancer Maks Chmerkovskiy wouldn’t be taking the stage Monday with partner Vanessa Lachey.
“Maks is dealing with a personal issue so Alan is stepping in and dancing with Vanessa tonight,” she said, referring to pro Alan Bersten, who got eliminated last week with partner Debbie Gibson.
However, there’s much more to the story, according to the gossip rags. Reports say Maks chose to step out due to a conflict with Vanessa.
People’s sources say:
“There’s a big chemistry issue,” the insider says. “They both have big personalities and that’s not always the best recipe for a good partnership.”
While the former Total Request Live host, 36, has called the Ukrainian dancer the “best coach,” the source adds, “They’ve been fighting a lot.” (Reps for Chmerkovskiy and Lachey could not immediately be reached for comment.)
According to US Magazine:
“Their personalities are very similar so they disagree about everything. They refuse to give into one another,” the source adds to Us. “They’re playing nice for the cameras but both are miserable paired with each other.”
Entertainment Tonight reports:
A source tells ET that he actually refused to rehearse with Lachey this past week due to the two not getting along.
According to our source, both Lachey and Chmerkovskiy are “stubborn, strong-willed people,” and it was obvious from the beginning that they were going to “butt heads.” The source also claims the pair has been faking their seemingly close relationship.
“They’re both super competitive and know how to ‘turn it on’ as performers,” the source adds.
The source says their issues “erupted” this past week, resulting in Chmerkovskiy’s refusal to rehearse with Lachey in preparation for Monday’s episode.
“It was nothing specific, just little disagreements that escalated,” the source says.
But according to those same reports, their spouses, Nick Lachey and Peta Murgatroyd, who are also partnered together in the competition, are getting along just fine.
Vanessa posts on her instagram that she and Maks will be back in the ballroom next week.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BZxwrv-A5ma/?hl=en&taken-by=vanessalachey
