Dirty dancing? Cheryl Burke spoke out about romance rumors surrounding Gleb Savchenko and his partner Dancing With the Stars partner, Chrishell Stause, after his split from wife Elena Samodanova.
“Just because they dry hump on TV, guys, doesn’t mean it’s real,” Burke, 36, said on the Tuesday, November 10, episode of her iHeartRadio “Pretty Messed Up” podcast.
The Dancing With the Stars pro explained that relationship speculation comes with the reality TV territory. She also noted that the chatter about Savchenko, 37, and his season 29 partner, Stause, 39, has blown up because of the Russian dancer’s breakup announcement earlier this month.
“This is the whole thing. When you’re in this world of Hollywood, you do reality shows and this stuff does happen,” Burke said. “People dry hump and people go, ‘Oh! They’re having sex.’ But when you see a sex scene in a movie, do you think they’re actually really having sex?”
The former Dancing With the Stars: Juniors mentor noted that “s—t happens” before adding that she doesn’t think anything is going on between the dance partners — who were eliminated during the November 2 show.
“I’m not saying anything has happened with them. It’s just a big deal because Gleb and his wife are separating,” Burke continued. “I’ve known them for a while. They’re both in the competitive dance world scene. I’ve known his wife as well and their beautiful kids, and I send my love to Gleb and his family. This can’t be easy for anybody right now, especially when you have kids involved.”
The Selling Sunset star addressed the rumors on Friday, November 6, revealing that she was “saddened about the news” of the couple’s split but had nothing to do with their breakup.
“It is unfortunate that this has caused rumors to swirl about my personal life. Having gone through a public split myself, I would not wish this one anyone,” Stause, who is in the midst of a divorce from This Is Us star Justin Hartley, wrote on her Instagram Story. “As you can imagine, the countless hours of training, and dance rehearsals has created a strong supportive friendship, but nothing more.”
Samodanova, 36, announced her split from Savchenko via Instagram on Thursday, November 5, after 14 years of marriage. The DWTS pro confirmed the separation to Us Weekly in a statement.
“It is with a heavy heart that I tell you my wife and I are parting ways after 14 years of marriage,” the choreographer told Us. “We still intend to coparent our wonderful children together who we love so dearly, and we will strive to continue to be the best parents that we can to them.”
The mother of two released a similar statement about the breakup but went on to accuse her estranged husband of a “recent inappropriate relationship” and “ongoing infidelity.”
Savchenko denied the accusations, telling Us, “I will not stand by and allow false accusations and internet rumors go unaddressed. My relationship with Chrishell was and remains strictly platonic. Our friendship during our season on DWTS was not the reason for our split. Elena and I have had longstanding issues in our marriage.”
The pair share daughters Olivia, 10, and Zlata, 3.
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