Love Island UK star Maura Higgins, who is set to compete on Dancing with the Stars Season 35 later this year, has made it clear she doesn’t want to be paired with pro Gleb Savchenko. The reason has to do with Savchenko’s ex Brooks Nader.
Maura Higgins Doesn’t Like DWTS Pro Gleb Savchenko
Back in May, after she was announced as a cast member on DWTS Season 35, Maura Higgins told E! News of her potential pro partner, “I’d be happy with anyone except Gleb. That’s only because I’m loyal and I’m friends with Brooks [Nader].”
Savchenko was paired with Nader in Season 33 of the show, and the pair went on to date for several months before breaking up in April 2025. Their split wasn’t exactly amicable, with Savchenko later saying he had “the worst sex of my life” with Nader.
“I don’t really like the way he speaks about women,” Higgins said of Savchenko. “I don’t really want to spend all my time with someone like that. I’m like, no thank you.”
Higgins might not have to worry about being paired with Savchenko, as he told fans on TikTok last month that he’s not returning to the ballroom this season. However, the official cast has yet to be announced. As for which pro Higgins would like to dance with, she named her Traitors co-star Mark Ballas.
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A source told The Sun that Savchenko found Higgins’ comments about him to be “out of line,” adding, “He gets that she is being a good mate and sticking up for her friend, but she wasn’t in the relationship and doesn’t know all sides of it.”
The source added that things will be “really awkward” between the two on the DWTS set. As for Higgins, an insider told the outlet, “She thinks he’s messy, chauvinistic and disrespectful, so she’ll be cordial but she won’t be mates with him.”
When asked for comment by The Sun, Savchenko said, “Until I was asked to comment on this story, I’d genuinely never heard of this girl, Maura, so I’m certainly not going to lose any sleep over the opinions of someone I’ve never met.”
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What do you think about Maura Higgins’ remark that she doesn’t want to dance with Gleb Savchenko? Let us know in the comments below.
