‘Dancing With the Stars’ Pro Gleb Savchenko Says He ‘Never Cheated’ as Wife Files for Divorce

Dancing With the Stars pro Gleb Savchenko is speaking out after estranged wife Elena Samodanova filed for divorce Tuesday, claiming he was never unfaithful in his marriage and that he was part of a “mentally abusive, jealous relationship” for years before their split. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight Wednesday, Savchenko alleged that it was actually Samodanova, with whom he shares daughter Olivia, 10, and Zlata, 3, who cheated before the two ended their 14-year marriage.

While Samodanova publicly accused her ex of ongoing affairs on Instagram following their split announcement in November, the DWTS pro told ET the two had “problems for years,” adding, “I was in a mentally abusive, jealous relationship. I always said to myself, ‘Listen, she’s the mother of your kids, and you love her, just make it work for your kids.’”

He alleged that he and Samodanova have actually been separated for some time and haven’t lived together since July, and when the new season of Dancing With the Stars began, he moved into an apartment provided by the show as part of the filming bubble/ “We lived in a house before that. We moved out because we decided to separate,” the pro alleged. “I moved out right before this season. But before that, when I was on tour and before COVID-19 started at the beginning of March, it was already a different, very weird vibe.”

Savchenko added that in early 2020, he felt his wife was “constantly” lying to him about her whereabouts, which he claimed was a sign of infidelity on her part. “I saw her on cameras around the house. She would pull out, park her car in front of the house, completely change, put on heels and leave,” he said. “She would tell me that she would go to the studio to work, and then show up at [the house] at 4 a.m. completely drunk, and wake up my daughter from trying to open the door.”

Savchenko has reportedly moved on with girlfriend Cassie Scerbo, and Samodanova was spotted locking lips with former DWTS troupe member Vlad Kvartin earlier this week. The pro shared he had a “gut feeling” something was going on between his ex and the So You Think You Can Dance alum a long time ago, as he has been tight with the family for a year. “The thing is, I’ve never actually cheated on her. Never, ever, ever. This whole thing, it was her trying to set it up,” Savchenko alleged. “All of those partners that I danced with, it might have looked on TV like [it was something more], but it never was the case.”