Maksim Chmerkovskiywon’t try to add one last Mirrorball Trophy to his mantle.
On Monday’s episode ofThe Real, cohost Loni Love admitted she was “very disappointed because you decided not to go back toDancing with the Stars.”
Showing off his trademark humor, Maks joked that he didn’t feel like his absence would have made that much of an impression.
“I have a sibling that looks just like me, does the same stuff, and says similar things,” he said, alluding to his younger brotherVal Chmerkovskiy.
Getting serious, Maks, 38, explained that his growing family contributed to his decision to stay off the show.
“I’m a dad, I’m a husband,” he remarked, adding that “your chemistry changes when you have a child, things look different, they seem different.”
The reality star is married to fellowDWTSproPeta Murgatroyd, with whom he shares sonShai Aleksander, 20 months.
Peta Murgatroyd/Instagram
“There’s also something to be said for what the show is itself,” Maks continued, adding that while he’ll always be a “big supporter” of the beloved ABC program, he no longer wants to participate in the competitive aspect of the show.
“You find yourself politicking for your votes,” he said, adding that while he wasn’talways successfulat staying cool-headed during the 12 years he was on the program, “you find you have to be a certain way because you don’t want your antics to cost your partner their votes.”
But these days, the dancer wants “people to know me for me, and not that guy who was there.”
“I’m not saying that a lot of things are now gonna be said, and I wasn’t real back then,” he continued. “I want what I say now to be understood that it’s me, it’s not,well, he has to say that.”
Chmerkovskiy last returned to theDWTSballroom in 2017, partnering with television personalityVanessa Lachey.
His first and only win came during season 18, when he helped lead Olympic ice dancer Meryl Davis to victory. Meanwhile Murgatroyd, 32, has two wins under her belt.
Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images
This season, Chmerkovskiy has encouraged his followers toroot for his brother or Jenna Johnson,his future sister-in-law.
“Let’s get those fingers ready for some dialing, texting and typing, because it’s time to VOTE VOTE VOTE @dancingabc. As always, please vote for your favorites as long as those favorites are one of those two couples” he wrote on Instagram in September, alongside photos of his brother and partner Nancy McKeon, as well as Johnson and her partner Joe Amabile.
“Keeping it all in the family but secretly want @dance10jenna to have more mirrorballs than @iamvalc so he knows what it’s like to enter into ‘the rest of your lives’ type relationship with uneven balls in the household,” he joked, adding the hashtags, “JustSayingItHowItIs” and “NotBitterAtAll.”
While Val has since been eliminated from the competition, he’s the proud owner of two Mirrorball Trophies, while Johnson picked up her first win earlier this year duringDancing with the Stars: Athletes.
source: people.com
