Former Dancing with the Stars pro Maksim Chmerkovskiy quit the ballroom after Season 25. He competed in 17 seasons. During Season 18, Maks and his partner, Meryl Davis, took home the Mirrorball trophy.
Maks married fellow DWTS pro Peta Murgatroyd. The couple welcomed their second son in June 2023.
He did return as a judge in later seasons. But now he is bidding a final goodbye to DWTS. Excuse me while I cry into my coffee.
It’s time to say goodbye
Maksim told Heavy, “This is a great show, great group of people. You know, look. If there’s a Mount Rushmore of that thing, Dancing with the Stars, I’m probably a couple of spots on it,” he stated. I love his modesty.
“But I feel like we’ve written a book on how to do Dancing with the Stars back in the day. And, you know, I’m that fan. I’m a fan of the original version. The way it was,” Maks explained. “The way everybody fell in love with the show.”
But Maks isn’t planning a DWTS return. “I don’t have plans to be part of the show,” Maks said. “Having said that, I’m always part of the show. There’s a wife. There’s a brother.” He added, “There’s a sister-in-law. I’m there with my kids, supporting our fam.” Besides his wife Peta, Maks also roots for his brother, Val Chmerkovskiy, and Val’s wife, pro dancer Jenna Johnson.
DWTS is embracing its roots
He added, “I don’t have any plans for physical participation.” Still, he wants DWTS to continue. He just hopes that it stays true to the original show. “What I love now is that it’s coming back to the old days of original content. The way it was meant to be, where it’s about celebrities and their partners having this journey and this experience and so forth,” Maks said.
Maks served as a guest judge on DWTS and once expressed interest in being a permanent member. But now Maks has decided to leave the show behind.
“So, having said that, I gotta go. I moved on. The show is back to its sort of heyday; the production, the people behind it have returned,” Maks explained. “You know, I think that it has come full circle, and season 32 is a big number for any project from television, let alone prime time.”
If you need a Maks fix, he is appearing on Season 2 of The Traitors. The show is expected to stream on Peacock in 2024.
Dancing with the Stars airs on Tuesdays at 8/7c on ABC and Disney+.
TELL US – DO YOU MISS MAKSIM ON DWTS? WILL YOU WATCH HIM ON THE TRAITORS?
