Trouble on set! Maks Chmerkovskiy and Vanessa Lachey’s partnership is “not going well” behind the ballroom curtain on Dancing With the Stars, a source reveals exclusively to Us Weekly.
“There is a lot of fighting going on behind the scenes,” an insider tells Us.
Chmerkovskiy, 37, and the TV personality, 36, are teamed together on season 25 of the ABC series. “They’re playing nice for the cameras but both are miserable paired with each other,” the source adds to Us.
Their lack of chemistry hasn’t affected their scores, however. So far, they’ve landed at the top of the leaderboard for their performances.
Still, fans were left puzzled when the Ukrainian hunk was a no-show during the Monday, October, 2 episode. “Maks is dealing with a personal issue so Alan [Bersten] is stepping in and dancing with Vanessa tonight,” cohost Erin Andrews said at the top of the show.
The former TRL VJ kept mum about his absence. Even more, a pre-taped package for Chmerkovskiy and Lachey wasn’t even shown. A second source notes that Chmerkovskiy refused to rehearse last week but Lachey showed up.
Their spouses, meanwhile, have been getting along just fine. On Monday night, Nick Lachey and Peta Murgatroyd appeared cheerful despite Vanessa and Chmerkovskiy’s rocky relationship.
“Nick and Peta are totally fine,” the source says. “Nick is awesome. He’s very laid back and sweet. Peta just goes with the flow, she’s easy.”
Dancing With the Stars airs Mondays on ABC at 8 p.m. ET.
