Dancing With the Stars pro Gleb Savchenko reacted to Maura Higgins\u2019 comments about how she doesn\u2019t want to be partnered with him in the 35th season because she\u2019s \u201cloyal\u201d to his ex Brooks Nader.<\/p>\n
Gleb Savchenko is happy to waltz away from Maura Higgins.<\/p>\n
After Higgins told E! News that she hopes she won\u2019t be paired with the Dancing With the Stars pro in the upcoming 35th season due to his past relationship with her friend Brooks Nader, Savchenko shared his reaction\u2014and he didn\u2019t mince words.<\/p>\n
"Until I was asked to comment on this story, I\u2019d genuinely never heard of this girl, Maura," Savchenko said in an Aug. 4 statement to the Daily Mail. "So I\u2019m certainly not going to lose any sleep over the opinions of someone I\u2019ve never met."<\/p>\n
"It\u2019s odd to publicly attack someone you\u2019ve never even met," the 42-year-old continued, "but if that\u2019s how she wants to make headlines before the show starts, that\u2019s her choice."<\/p>\n
Savchenko stated, "I\u2019ll stay focused and leave the unnecessary drama to everyone else."\u00a0<\/p>\n
E! has reached out to Higgins\u2019 reps for comment on Savchenko\u2019s remarks but hasn\u2019t heard back.<\/p>\n
Previously, the Love Island U.K. alum\u2014who\u2019s been tapped to compete on DWTS along with Ciara Miller and Jackson Olson\u2014said she\u2019d \u201cbe happy with anyone except Gleb\u201d when it comes to her pro partner. As she explained in a recent E! interview, \u201cI'm loyal and I'm friends with Brooks.\u201d<\/p>\n
Besides, Higgins already has another pro in mind: three-time Mirrorball champion Mark Ballas, who was also her costar on season four of The Traitors.<\/p>\n
"I even get nervous of saying it because I see all these videos and they're like, 'Mark! Mark!'" Higgins quipped. "My accent is crazy but I do want Mark."<\/p>\n
Savchenko and Nader, 29, started dating when she competed on season 33 in 2024. The pair\u2014who Nader said slept together on the first day they met\u2014dated on-and-off for eight months before breaking up for good in April 2025.<\/p>\n
Since then, Nader has been candid about her relationship with Savchenko and their messy split, including how the two once had sex on the DWTS set.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe trailer thing was probably why we didn\u2019t win,\u201d Nader quipped in a May 2025 episode of the Chicks in the Office podcast. \u201cWhat\u2019s a girl to do? I was newly single.\u201d<\/p>\n
For more behind-the-scenes tea from\u00a0DWTS, keep reading…\u00a0<\/p>\n
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