Dancer Val Chmerkovskiy recently gave his honest opinions about the romances that sometimes blossom out of partnerships on Dancing with the Stars. Although he himself has been part of showmances in the past, Chmerkovskiy called them “unprofessional.”
Val Chmerkovskiy Talks About DWTS Showmances
Chmerkovskiy was recently a guest on the Lightweights Podcast with Joe Vulpis, where he admitted that he’s “been guilty” of getting romantic with his celebrity dance partners in the past. He said it was “incredibly unprofessional to do so in my mind.”
“Because I’m here as their teacher and as their partner, and I’m probably, in some way or another, in a position of authority to them,” Chmerkovskiy explained, according to E! News. “Like, don’t s–t where you eat kind of thing comes into play.”
The dancer added that he believes it’s “different” if a pair gets together after the season has ended, saying, “We’re both adults, we’re not at work. But during the season, I feel like that was a bit irresponsible at times.”
Chmerkovskiy also said he dislikes seeing couples “putting on a show” to earn attention and votes, saying, “I just don’t like anything that’s inauthentic.”
Chmerkovskiy’s rule against DWTS showmances apparently doesn’t apply to dancers dating each other, since he met his wife Jenna Johnson on the show in 2014 when she was a troupe member and he was a pro. They started dating the next year.
After a brief breakup, the pair got back together in 2017. In 2018, they got engaged, and they tied the knot the following year. In 2023, they welcomed their first child together — a son named Rome. He’ll celebrate his second birthday in January.
The two dancers are both recent DWTS champions. Chmerkovskiy and his Season 32 partner Xochitl Gomez won the show last year, so they recently got to hand the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy off Johnson and her Season 33 partner Joey Graziadei in their own winning moment.
“It was amazing,” Chmerkovskiy told Vulpis. “It was by far my favorite moment on Dancing With The Stars. You know, not even close.”
Words by:
Jill O'Rourke Jill O’Rourke is a contributor at Talent Recap, writing news stories and recaps for shows like ‘AGT,’ ‘The Voice,’ and ‘American Idol.’ She graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in English and Film Studies, and has been writing about pop culture since 2012, with previous bylines at Crushable and A Plus. Jill spends her free time binge-watching sitcoms and daydreaming about life as a hobbit
