General Gabbery: DWTS

[dom16]

Maks and Peta are engaged https://www.instagram.com/p/-71Jb9Oy1D/

[Dejana]

But on a show where producers thrive on drama Charlie and Sharna's partnership was too low key and he was nowhere near as bubbly as Bindi who also had the "drama" of the shadow of her deceased father. As for James Maslow the producers attempted to play up a showmance between him and Peta based on them having gone on a single date well before he was cast on DWTS so that provided a story for them that season. He simply got lost in the shuffle of personalities and producer driven stories/rehearsal footage.

 

My impression was that Peta and James had had some sort of one-night stand/fling, and afterwards, he never called. Because it's DWTS and not a Bravo show, everyone had to be discreet and vague about the crux of why it was so awkward for the two of them to see each other again. But maybe merely that's the message board/fanfic version of events...

 

I wouldn't mind seeing the show take a rest and come back for a summer season.

Edited December 6, 2015 by Dejana

[Andie1]

Maks and Peta are engaged https://www.instagram.com/p/-71Jb9Oy1D/

I'm really happy for them. I haven't always been a Maks or a Peta fan, but together they are a great couple. This show and the demands they make on pros who are involved with each other is pretty intense. Ever since they banned married pro couples from the show it must have been difficult for Maks to remain on the show given his feelings for Peta, which were pretty obvious in September 2012. The showmances and the fake publicity stunts in between- It makes me wonder at the machinations of this show.  

Edited December 6, 2015 by Andie1

[cocobeans]

This show and the demands they make on pros who are involved with each other is pretty intense. Ever since they banned married pro couples from the show it must have been difficult for Maks to remain on the show given his feelings for Peta, which were pretty obvious in September 2012. 

Married to each other?  I wasn't aware of this rule.  I wonder if its because of John and Anna, was their divorce ugly?  

 

I know Lindsay just got married in the summer, she is beautiful but looks so young!  (all legs and mane like a colt :-) 

[McManda]

Ever since they banned married pro couples

 

Is there a source on this? Jonathan was pushed out as a pro long before his divorce with Anna, though Edyta did say in an interview once that part of the reason she left the show was the way TPTB treated Alec, but I figured that was more giving him crappy partners and limited creative input and whatnot.

[truthaboutluv]

Jonathan and Anna were both already mostly off the show when they divorced and I am certainly not aware of any ugliness. Their public statement announcing their separation was nothing but positive towards each other and I've never heard of either saying a bad word about the other. The only other married Pro pair was Edyta and Alec and based on Edyta's rantings after she left the show, I never got the feeling the issue was about having a married pair and wanting them to have showmances or any of that stuff.  She just felt like the show never really gave her or Alec legitimate contenders and didn't really appreciate them or well him more so than her I guess. 

 

I am sorry, good for Maks and Peta but I find it laughable that the show supposedly had anything to do with their relationship and it was one more thing that made the show oh so difficult for him. So it was the show that made him dump her back when they first dated and the show made him hook up with Kate Upton who for the record, was the one who dumped him. And I guess the show was the one who made him play up his little showmance with Meryl in Season 18 because as amazing a dancer as she was, guess he didn't think that was enough to get them the win (incidentally I hear some of the delusional ones who were still holding on to that fantasy are having epic meltdowns all over tumblr and twitter as we speak). 

Edited December 6, 2015 by truthaboutluv

[Andie1]

My understanding is Edyta was fed up with the policy of DWTS at the time. Not only did she want Alec to be in the show more often so they could work together, she wanted to start a family, but the show wasn't keen on maternity leave and so when Edyta left the implication was pretty implicit.  

 

5 years later they still haven't hired a married couple to be pros on the show.  Instead, ABC hired Allison for DWTs and Twitch has a regular gig on Ellen.

But they've finally moved with the times. Allison is pregnant everybody! 

 

Dancers aren't just sex objects and the subject of showmances, they have a right to move forward and marry each other and be moms and dads if they want to. 

 

I don't think Maks ever dumped Peta, I think the pressure was there to make good stories so certain dancers get to stay on the show, even while others leave. Peta danced with the Bachelor so his fiancee had to be jealous, and Peta danced with James Maslow so Maks couldn't possibly want her back.  Same kinda bs story lines, just a different twist so Maks can still be in the news but just not on the show.

 

Tommy Chong let the reality of the situation slip about Maks and Peta when he sniffed her neck and said she smelled "like Maks"  Good Ol Tommy, never one to follow the bullshit, instead he mocked the producers and Peta had a giggle in the process.

Edited December 7, 2015 by Andie1

[McManda]

I don't think the implication there is that they don't want to hire a married dancer couple. I don't think the show cares all that much, provided each dancer plays by their rules.

 

DWTS hiring Allison was a mistake, but it was likely due to her friendship with Derek that got her the opportunity. It doesn't seem to me like they're not hiring tWitch because he's married to her, it's because if Allison doesn't fit in as a pro on the show, tWitch wouldn't fit in even more. Ballroom (or even Allison's weird brand of ballroom-lite-fusion) isn't really his style.

 

As far as maternity leave goes, I think a lot of it is two-fold. She has deal with the idea (and very real possibility) that if took time off to have a baby, she'd be replaced and maybe by someone the audience likes better. The show would have to deal with keeping a spot open for her if she wanted to come back ... but what if she didn't? They can't sit on an empty spot forever. Maternity leave sucks for women in the US, but it sucks even more for women in the entertainment industry.

 

I don't think Edyta would have had a problem if she took a year to go have a baby because I think she was popular enough at the time that the audience would have welcomed her back. Ashly Del Grosso got married and had a baby while on the show (isn't that why she left?) and then came back, but I got the feeling that it was more her decision to not come back after Buzz Aldrin. (I think by that time she had two, maybe three kids.) Anna got invited back, apparently last minute, after having her daughter. I think Edyta's fundamental problem was with the way TPTB ran the show and treated her and the rest of the dancers, and that was more of an issue than the fact that her husband was also employed by them at one time.

[Andie1]

Nah, it's been 5 years since Edyta and Alec have been on the show.  Ashley Del Grosso, god she hasn't been on the show in forever and like Karina or Anna they bring her back for a guy that won't go past week 3. The show needs to review what they do and why they do it.

 

Someone like Edyta was a loyal member of the cast since the first season. The show obviously recognizes that pros become popular and can become stars. They wanted to nip that pesky "family" situation in the bud.  It's no different from any corporate bastard out there that does this kind of underhanded bullshit.  5 years ago Edyta could easily come back for a permanent place. She can't now. They leave those spots for people like Karina or Kym, perpetual loyal single females.

[Dots And Stripes]

Congrats to Maks and Peta! He's my all time fav and the only times I've tuned in in recent years were when he was on.

 

It's well documented Maks and Peta split in 2013. Even apart from the news articles, they just weren't around each other on a regular basis after that. They likely got back together sometime last year, although as far as I can tell no one has ever gotten to the bottom of exactly when they got back together. 

 

No matter what happened in the past, I wish them happiness in the future.

[Uke]

I don't think the implication there is that they don't want to hire a married dancer couple. I don't think the show cares all that much, provided each dancer plays by their rules.

 

DWTS hiring Allison was a mistake, but it was likely due to her friendship with Derek that got her the opportunity. It doesn't seem to me like they're not hiring tWitch because he's married to her, it's because if Allison doesn't fit in as a pro on the show, tWitch wouldn't fit in even more. Ballroom (or even Allison's weird brand of ballroom-lite-fusion) isn't really his style.

 

As far as maternity leave goes, I think a lot of it is two-fold. She has deal with the idea (and very real possibility) that if took time off to have a baby, she'd be replaced and maybe by someone the audience likes better. The show would have to deal with keeping a spot open for her if she wanted to come back ... but what if she didn't? They can't sit on an empty spot forever. Maternity leave sucks for women in the US, but it sucks even more for women in the entertainment industry.

 

I don't think Edyta would have had a problem if she took a year to go have a baby because I think she was popular enough at the time that the audience would have welcomed her back. Ashly Del Grosso got married and had a baby while on the show (isn't that why she left?) and then came back, but I got the feeling that it was more her decision to not come back after Buzz Aldrin. (I think by that time she had two, maybe three kids.) Anna got invited back, apparently last minute, after having her daughter. I think Edyta's fundamental problem was with the way TPTB ran the show and treated her and the rest of the dancers, and that was more of an issue than the fact that her husband was also employed by them at one time.

 

I agree - Edyta's departure had nothing to do with her being married.  It had everything to do with not "going along to get along".

 

But there's 1 other issue. I'm pretty sure none of the pros, even back in Edyta's seasons, are/were employees. I believe they are now and always have been contract workers.  From what I've heard, the initial contract is for 5 years and then renewals are for 2 or 3 years (some seem to be 2 years and others 3 years). The pro has to remain available to the show each season for the entire season. If the show doesn't use them for 2 contiguous seasons, the pro is allowed to walk away from the contract with no recourse by the show. If they don't walk, the pro has to wait for the next contiguous seasons.   

 

Anyway, a contract worker isn't going to get maternity leave like an employee would receive a benefit.  I'm sure there is something in the contracts about being medically unfit for work and at what point the contract dissolves for being unable to perform.  Surely the contracts recognize that the pros are in a high-risk line of work and injuries could be career-enders.  Given that reality, there must be some kind of language in the contracts covering  pregnancy.  I've noticed in some of Allison's recent interviews (most recent was by "GotPap"), Allison is quick to say that she's only taking off S22 and will be back S23 (assuming DWTS wants her back).  I don't know if that's just her eagerness to get back to the show or if there are contract terms she's concerned about. 

 

Anyway, I don't think they are holding a slot for Allison.  If they want her back, they'll bring her back.  If they don't, they won't. And if they want her to return but work as a trouper instead of a competing pro, that's what she'll do.

[Andie1]

Congrats to Maks and Peta! He's my all time fav and the only times I've tuned in in recent years were when he was on.

 

It's well documented Maks and Peta split in 2013. Even apart from the news articles, they just weren't around each other on a regular basis after that. They likely got back together sometime last year, although as far as I can tell no one has ever gotten to the bottom of exactly when they got back together. 

 

No matter what happened in the past, I wish them happiness in the future.

 Maks announced he was off the show back then for Season 16.  To keep relevant he did a lot of things in 2013. But there's no reason imho to believe that Peta and he called it quits. 2013 is when Peta had that Sean Lowe guy to contend with and the jealous fiancee story line just works better if Maks is seeing someone else.

[Andie1]

I agree - Edyta's departure had nothing to do with her being married.  It had everything to do with not "going along to get along".

 

But there's 1 other issue. I'm pretty sure none of the pros, even back in Edyta's seasons, are/were employees. I believe they are now and always have been contract workers.  From what I've heard, the initial contract is for 5 years and then renewals are for 2 or 3 years (some seem to be 2 years and others 3 years). The pro has to remain available to the show each season for the entire season. If the show doesn't use them for 2 contiguous seasons, the pro is allowed to walk away from the contract with no recourse by the show. If they don't walk, the pro has to wait for the next contiguous seasons.   

 

Anyway, a contract worker isn't going to get maternity leave like an employee would receive a benefit.  I'm sure there is something in the contracts about being medically unfit for work and at what point the contract dissolves for being unable to perform.  Surely the contracts recognize that the pros are in a high-risk line of work and injuries could be career-enders.  Given that reality, there must be some kind of language in the contracts covering  pregnancy.  I've noticed in some of Allison's recent interviews (most recent was by "GotPap"), Allison is quick to say that she's only taking off S22 and will be back S23 (assuming DWTS wants her back).  I don't know if that's just her eagerness to get back to the show or if there are contract terms she's concerned about. 

 

Anyway, I don't think they are holding a slot for Allison.  If they want her back, they'll bring her back.  If they don't, they won't. And if they want her to return but work as a trouper instead of a competing pro, that's what she'll do.

Yep, Edyta's departure had everything to do with being married.  When you're not married you put up with this kind of bullshit of "contract" player even though this woman worked 26 weeks a year on air and more in preparation every season since the first one. As a cast member of a successful tv show she deserved better. 

This show makes a shit load of money filming in a rehearsal hall and a studio. They have virtually no over head.  Edyta was the one person who stood up to the show and lost.  Don't tell me others would not have lined up to get a better deal if she won.  She didn't win and as such there's no pros who are married to each other on this show. They'll keep filling the stable with unmarried pros who frankly aren't all that great as pros, instead of ever hiring Edyta again.

Edited December 7, 2015 by Andie1

[McManda]

Nah, it's been 5 years since Edyta and Alec have been on the show.  Ashley Del Grosso, god she hasn't been on the show in forever and like Karina or Anna they bring her back for a guy that won't go past week 3.

 

Karina and Anna are still on their radars. But yes, we're  not going to see Alec, Edyta, or Ashly again.

 

It's too late for Edyta (if I remember correctly, she burned a lot of bridges with the interviews she gave when she left DWTS), but I do think if she had wanted to take a year to build a family somewhere in the early seasons of the show she could have. She was popular enough to warrant getting back (and TPTB hadn't gone crazy trying to replace the entire cast with young, blonde mormons, so that would've helped).

 

When you're not married you put up with this kind of bullshit of "contract" player even though this woman worked 26 weeks a year on air and more in preparation every season since the first one. As a cast member of a successful tv show she deserved better.

 

Uh, no. Being married has no bearing on what you should be allowed to put up with. If conditions are as bad as you say (I don't think they are ... they've got a lot of pros jumping at the chance to continue on), everyone deserves better, marital status or not.

 

Fact is, for whatever reason, Edyta wanted more and the show wasn't willing to give it to her. She was popular, but she was the beginning of the end for TPTB - now the show was popular and they had their pick of people to replace her. None on that was tied directly to her marital status - or at least her being married to another pro - and everything to do with her wanting more from her career and her personal life. She could have been married to Joe Schmo and gotten the same treatment (see: Ashly Del Grosso).

Edited December 7, 2015 by McManda

[Dots And Stripes]

 Maks announced he was off the show back then for Season 16.  To keep relevant he did a lot of things in 2013. But there's no reason imho to believe that Peta and he called it quits. 2013 is when Peta had that Sean Lowe guy to contend with and the jealous fiancee story line just works better if Maks is seeing someone else.

I'm not sure how several reports from reliable celebrity websites like People and Us Weekly, along with it coming directly from Maks and Peta themselves in interviews, counts as no reason to believe. It would also not make sense for producers to have such an extreme reaction to pros being in relationships with each other while allowing pros to be in relationships with people off the show. They hired Allison after she was married. They've continued to bring back Tony every season since season 2 even though he's married. Heck, Tony was even accused, wrongly, of having an affair with Sarah Evans even though he was married. Producers don't need participants to actually be single to promote showmances either (see Maria Menunous). There are so many ways that theory doesn't pan out.

 

So anyway, good for the happy couple.

[Andie1]

Eiyiyee  I'm talking about pros who are competing on the show who happend to also be married to each other.  No one, since the dumping of Edyta has been on the show as pros who are also a married couple.  I don't care about Tony or anyone else, his wife isn't a pro on the show. 

 

As for reports about Peta and Maks not being together, their denials were all the way up to when Tommy Chong said she smelled like Maks.  Obviously what they do outside of whatever they say to the media is at odds.

Edited December 7, 2015 by Andie1

[McManda]

As for reports about Peta and Maks not being together, their denials were all the way up to when Tommy Chong said she smelled like Maks.  Obviously what they do outside of whatever they say to the media is at odds.

 

They were together from 2012 to 2013, and Maks confirmed their split in mid-2013. Peta and Tommy weren't partners until fall of 2014, and photos of Maks and Peta together were published in gossip mags in early 2015. They confirmed they were back together in May of 2015.

 

There's nothing to suggest that they actually didn't break up for a year and then get back together and Tommy was the first to spill the beans. Or heck, they could have been friends with benefits at that point and he noticed. They do run in the same circles, so it makes sense that they stayed friends, or at least still had contact. It doesn't seem producer driven to me at all, just a normal (well, kind of drama filled, but personal drama, not scripted drama) relationship progression.

 

I truly don't think TPTB care that much if their pros are married, to each other or not.

[Andie1]

Of course they don't care now that Maks is not on the show.  They would have cared if Maks and Peta were on the show as pros.  Then all those strange and creative showmances would have no where to fester.

Edited December 7, 2015 by Andie1

[vibeology]

Sorry I don't see some evil conspiracy against married people on this show. If Maks wanted to come back still engaged to Peta, the producers would welcome him back with open arms and cry tears of joy since Maks is a huge draw.

I don't believe that Edyta and Alec are proof that there's something wrong with this show and married people. Alec was always salty about the Kelly Monaco/John O'Hurley dance off, wasn't popular, went out first several times and then when there were more popular pros to hire stopped getting contracts. Edyta was always treated well, hired 10 seasons in a row, given stars with potential and taken on tour. She had no reason to complain about her treatment, just Alec's and she did once she left.

I think the reason we haven't seen married pros is twofold. One, the male pros on this show have been fairly static for years. Tony, Derek, Mark, Maks and then Val have been taking up 4-6 of the 6-7 male pro spots for years. Doesn't leave much space for new male pros. Two, the show is targeting younger and younger female pros and statistically people don't marry as young anymore.

I disagree that the show is worried about shipping. Shippers will ship regardless of facts. There are still fans going down with the Drew/Cheryl ship and that was 19 seasons ago. I think Alec got himself off the show and Edyta went with him because she didn't like how he was treated, not how they were treated.

[Andie1]

Boy the people who don't see the show for what it is - staggering. 

 

To me, it's a double standard sexist myopic workplace that the pros are always worried if they're going to be on or not.  The older female pros have botox'd themselves into becoming unrecognizable, Cheryl and Lacey were bullied for years about their weight, and yet curiously when Tony packed on the pounds for a movie or Tristan or Mark appeared chunkier than normal, nothing was mentioned.  If a woman wants to improve her work conditions she's a demanding bitch. If a guy wants to improve his work conditions he's Saint Derek. Meryl was Maks' gift - there's no way he's getting another.  That was his swan song and he won't be coming back as a pro dancer.  In Edyta's case she's not coming back at all.

 

Troupe members can get the boot anytime, (See Henry re: Saint Derek)  so the show doesn't have to worry about an Edyta or a Maks who become demanding about their situation on the show.

 

  A  young troupe member who should still be there because she was a terrific dancer, went and got married to another ballroom dancer so she's toast and not invited back. I remember Val being upset that she wasn't asked back and then he erased his tweet. Don't want to get the producers angry!  Also, dancers who get hurt, it's on them.  They don't get benefits from the show, so working as a dancer isn't all fun and games. 

 

And nobody thinks it's in the dancers' best interest to play up a showmance? If the celebrity doesn't have a hook or anything the public can grab on to, like a dead dad or a football statistic, then a showmance helps sell the celebrity and get those votes.

 

Sure DWTS is a great gig for dancers, but there's a heck of a lot to think about before signing on.

[boyznkatz]

If the show welcomes married people then why did Gleb Savchenko pretend he was single when he was on? Strangely, he was booted when pics of his wife and daughter emerged. I don't think they prohibit married people, but they don't seem to like it. Showmances are a lot more profitable and bring in the drama.

[TeeMo]

The idea that Maks and Peta did not break up is laughable. They broke up in early 2013 when he put her butt on a plane back to LA just before Valentine's Day. She dyed her hair brown and sad sacked around town for a while. She hung out with Val a good bit during that time but Maks wasn't even in LA for most of that year. They were back in each other's orbits beginning in July 2014 when she did Sway for the first time and then they started dating again that fall.

[boyznkatz]

I'm pretty sure they did break up, but it's not out of the question that he felt some pressure from the show to do it. Of course, he could have just been a jerk. I never really liked Maks, but I could see things going either way.

[vibeology]

Boy the people who don't see the show for what it is - staggering. 

 

Just because I don't agree with you doesn't mean I don't see the show for what it is.

 

I think the show treats most of the pros pretty terribly and favours the ones who test well and bring in ratings, twitter mentions and controversy. I don’t think this is some happy, loving family where everyone just wants the best for everyone else and things are fair and right. But I don’t think those decisions are made based on relationship status. I do think if Maks sat down with Rob Wade and said he wanted to come back, one condition being Peta stays too, it would happen. They’d promote the crap out of his return and be thrilled for the buzz Maks brings. And I’m not saying he’s coming back (I believe him when he said he was done this time), but I do think the show would take him, single, engaged or married because he’s a rating draw.

Pretending to be single? Was Gleb actually around long enough to do that? Where Gleb was at a disadvantage is, like I said, the male pro roster has been fairly locked down for most of this show’s run. Derek, Mark, Tony, Maks and Val will all have spots if they want to work. There are only so many pro male slots – the issue isn’t married vs single at this point. Its established fanbases vs unknown pros. Those established pros bring viewers. Mark has been with BC Jean for years now – the show has worked around that by giving Mark children and very married women. No need for showmances there.

As for the women, yes, the show is absolutely rough on the female pros. The way people have talked about Cheryl and Lacey in particular is appalling. (And Peta, Sharna, Witney, Kym, Edyta, Chelsie, Ashly, Karina, Alison, Lindsay, Jenna, Carrie Ann, Julianne, Erin, Brooke, Sam and really any woman who has ever been on this show including child dancers.)  They all have to be sexy, young and perky. But Edyta worked for 10 seasons straight. She was taken on tour. She was given good, sexy dancers and they played up her sexiness and her lack of costumes all while everyone knew she was married to Alec.

I always assumed that they tried to push Alec off the show (and did keep him away for seasons 2&3) because of the “scandal” involving Kelly’s win. I think the show wanted to pretend that season 1 never happened, the dance-off never happened and that’s hard to do with the season 1 champion still on the dance floor. That’s why I assumed the show was rough on Alec, not because he wasn’t good for “showmances.” He was just a reminder of something they’d rather we all forget.

The producers love a showmance. I know that, but I don’t think they’ve avoided married couples or married pros just because of that. Like I said, I think the desire to hire younger and younger female pros just means that you’re going to get single women. Most 18-19 year olds are single and that’s how old Chelsie, Witney, Lindsay, Jenna and Brittany all were when they joined the cast. Emma, Sharna and Peta were a bit older, but still early 20s. Statistically, most women in that age group are single so it’s no surprise the majority of the female pros are single.

Also, Alison. She’s married – it’s well known she’s married. They feature her husband in the audience week after week. She’s totally underqualified to be a pro and married yet she’s the one the show has been pushing through the ridiculous judge comments and very generous partnerships for the past three seasons. I think Rob Wade hired her because she’s got that Emmy cache and she’s got a fanbase from SYTYCD. That’s what he cares about – awards and ratings. If someone is good for those things, he promotes and keeps them. If someone doesn’t help in those two areas they are expendable if something better comes along.

This show is full of manipulation and ridiculousness.  And the way they treat injured dancers is unfair considering they often get hurt because of the demands of the show’s schedule. The producers are brutal to pros and stars and they pick stories based on “reality tv tropes” that do a disservice to the participants because it makes for ratings. I just don’t think the issue is married people are bad, single people are good. I think the issues come down to money, ratings and Emmys.

[truthaboutluv]

Just because I don't agree with you doesn't mean I don't see the show for what it is.

 

This. First of all, unless I dreamt it, wasn't Maks on the show when he was engaged to Karina? In fact I'm pretty sure they both were and the show made a point to bring it up and it was talked about and everyone thought it was so cute and adorable. But now, I'm being asked to buy that poor, poor tortured Maks couldn't really express his great love and relationship for Peta because of the evil show? The evil show had him date or fake date or whatever the hell it was with Kate Upton - really? So it could not have had anything to do with the D-List publicist he had who would do anything to get his name in the press, like thinking it was a good idea to do Ukranian Bachelor? Yeah okay, sure...

 

I mean of course the show is manipulative and has manipulative edits and likes showmances...not exactly breaking news. But this notion that these people's lives are all controlled by these evil producers is ridiculous in my opinion. The comments about the women and how they have to look, that's not some crazy, evil conspiracy, it's simply called Hollywood and good old fashioned sexism. And frankly some of the posters on boards like this do their fair share of criticism and judgement on these women. Many of the fat shaming comments Cheryl talked about getting that one summer, according to her, was from comments online and on her social media. And TWOP was ruthless to Lacey when she first showed up on the show. 

 

And the show's so anti-not single people but brought on Alison who is very publicly married and now pregnant. And this is someone who is not ballroom trained and who many of the viewers of show have criticized and talked about not being ballroom trained. But they wanted her enough despite that and she's married. This season, despite Sharna and Nick's close partnership, they avoided any showmance hint or suggestion with them and instead had a whole baby reveal for him after showcasing him talking about his great love for his wife. They paired Emma up with a 15 year old kid, gave Witney married Carlos, brought newly married Lindsay back as a Pro, etc.

 

Again, does the show love a good showmance if the Pro and celebrities are willing to play along, hell yeah. Do they have story arcs and sometimes manipulate edits to tell the story they want for each celebrity and pairing, yes. But this evil mad organization practically torturing these poor people, I'm not buying it. And I damn sure am not buying this crap when it comes to Maks and his love life and his choice to carry on his multiple showmances. But hey, YMMV.

Edited December 7, 2015 by truthaboutluv

[boyznkatz]

The pros play certain roles and Val and Maks definitely play the "hunks." I just don't see the show being happy if Val were to get married. If he was, they would replace him with a new single hunk. Mark isn't known as the sexy one, so they don't care about his girlfriend. Gleb was brought in to be the new hunk when Maks left. He definitely either said or implied he was single at the time. I was pretty surprised to hear he had a wife. 

[vibeology]

Normally if you want to set someone up to be the young hunk, you don't pair them with a 40 something real housewife who probably won't last too long in the competition.

[TeeMo]

The pros play certain roles and Val and Maks definitely play the "hunks." I just don't see the show being happy if Val were to get married. If he was, they would replace him with a new single hunk. Mark isn't known as the sexy one, so they don't care about his girlfriend. Gleb was brought in to be the new hunk when Maks left. He definitely either said or implied he was single at the time. I was pretty surprised to hear he had a wife.

I am pretty sure that Gleb had a bit of a public cheating scandal a year or two ago and he and his wife broke up over it for a bit but have since reconciled. It all played out in a fairly ugly way on social media. My guess is that if Gleb implied he was single on the show it wasn't necessarily because of pressure from producers but his own strategy to come off as appealing and available.

[boyznkatz]

I am pretty sure that Gleb had a bit of a public cheating scandal a year or two ago and he and his wife broke up over it for a bit but have since reconciled. It all played out in a fairly ugly way on social media. My guess is that if Gleb implied he was single on the show it wasn't necessarily because of pressure from producers but his own strategy to come off as appealing and available.

 

Yes, I do remember that, and the C brothers have "player" reputations as well. Who knows what is true though. 

[Andie1]

If the show welcomes married people then why did Gleb Savchenko pretend he was single when he was on? Strangely, he was booted when pics of his wife and daughter emerged. I don't think they prohibit married people, but they don't seem to like it. Showmances are a lot more profitable and bring in the drama.

Gleb!  Exactly he went stealth on his marriage, and there's really no explanation except the obvious one. They were together when he was on the show, we just didn't know she was his wife until he got around to it.

The idea that Maks and Peta did not break up is laughable. They broke up in early 2013 when he put her butt on a plane back to LA just before Valentine's Day. She dyed her hair brown and sad sacked around town for a while. She hung out with Val a good bit during that time but Maks wasn't even in LA for most of that year. They were back in each other's orbits beginning in July 2014 when she did Sway for the first time and then they started dating again that fall.

Not only did she hang with Val she was doing DWM open houses for DWM juniors. That doesn't sound like someone who got dumped by Maks. Karina didn't get involved with the business.The Fam was not having her.  Peta sounds exactly like someone who had a future with Maks and the business, regardless of the Valentines dump, which seems far more hilarious because people fell for it. 

Edited December 7, 2015 by Andie1

[CED9]

I am pretty sure that Gleb had a bit of a public cheating scandal a year or two ago and he and his wife broke up over it for a bit but have since reconciled. It all played out in a fairly ugly way on social media. My guess is that if Gleb implied he was single on the show it wasn't necessarily because of pressure from producers but his own strategy to come off as appealing and available.

The problem with Gleb, IMO is that they just wanted him to be a straight up Maks replacement and he was nothing like Maks.

[radishcake]

OK guys AGAIN, please use the ignore feature and do not act like your fellow posters are morons because they don't have the same opinion that you hold.

[MsJamieDornan]

Maks is a famewhore plain and simple. I will be surprised if this marriage goes through. It's all about Maks.

[anonymiss]

Maks is a famewhore plain and simple. I will be surprised if this marriage goes through. It's all about Maks.

I always thought this and that's why I was so surprised to hear this news. I'm choosing to believe and root for them because I want Peta to be happy and she looks jubilant. 

Edited December 8, 2015 by anonymiss

[Andie1]

 

They were together from 2012 to 2013, and Maks confirmed their split in mid-2013. Peta and Tommy weren't partners until fall of 2014, and photos of Maks and Peta together were published in gossip mags in early 2015. They confirmed they were back together in May of 2015.

 

My Point exactly about Tommy, He said it when people still thought they were broken up, so it's amusing to me that fans wait until a rag tells the public they're back together, they don't believe the guy dancing with Peta on the show.  Also  the "reports" don't square with what Maks said about Peta, that he's wanted to marry her for a couple of years.  This is 2015 - He's known since 2013 she was the one.  And Sharna Burgess wrote on Instagram "It's about bloody time"  - as Peta's best friend to me that suggests they were together a lot longer than just re-kindling their relationship this year.  They were apart for business reasons, definitely, but that certainly doesn't suggest they were apart for romantic reasons at all.  

Edited December 8, 2015 by Andie1

[boyznkatz]

But didn't Maks basically once say in an interview that he dumped Peta because he still hadn't found what he was looking for? It basically sounds like he thought the grass was greener somewhere else, dumped Peta, and came back once he realized he wanted her after all. Sort of what he and Derek Hough did with dumping dwts and coming back because they didn't get the big movie careers they wanted. That's not to say the show didn't give him a little shit about his relationship. Anything is possible with those smarmy producers.

Edited December 8, 2015 by boyznkatz

[TeeMo]

But didn't Maks basically once say in an interview that he dumped Peta because he still hadn't found what he was looking for? It basically sounds like he thought the grass was greener somewhere else, dumped Peta, and came back once he realized he wanted her after all. Sort of what he and Derek Hough did with dumping dwts and coming back because they didn't get the big movie careers they wanted. That's not to say the show didn't give him a little shit about his relationship. Anything is possible with those smarmy producers.

He said it was because he wanted to be happy and he he was still looking for what would make him happy. I think Peta is foolish enough for getting back together with someone who was rather unchivalrous about their breakup (and their relationship in general and I say that as a fan of Maks) but if they were together the whole time while he pretended to date around and essentially say that Peta didn't make him happy then she is even more foolish than I thought. Not everything is a giant conspiracy and most things are actually exactly what they look like and that is most likely the scenario here - two people who broke up, spent some time apart and reconnected just over a year ago.

[boyznkatz]

He said it was because he wanted to be happy and he he was still looking for what would make him happy. I think Peta is foolish enough for getting back together with someone who was rather unchivalrous about their breakup (and their relationship in general and I say that as a fan of Maks) but if they were together the whole time while he pretended to date around and essentially say that Peta didn't make him happy then she is even more foolish than I thought. Not everything is a giant conspiracy and most things are actually exactly what they look like and that is most likely the scenario here - two people who broke up, spent some time apart and reconnected just over a year ago.

 

Yeah, I don't know too many women who would put up with that. Peta doesn't seem like the sharpest tool in the shed, but I don't think she's THAT dumb. 

[Andie1]

I believe Sharna and Tommy and others close to them, not what Maks says to the media to get them to not talk about Peta.

Edited December 8, 2015 by Andie1

[WhitneyWhit]

Wow. I guess we'll just ignore him dating Kate Upton. 

[Andie1]

Might as well, nothing came of that except publicity.

[McManda]

My Point exactly about Tommy, He said it when people still thought they were broken up, so it's amusing to me that fans wait until a rag tells the public they're back together, they don't believe the guy dancing with Peta on the show.

 

As I don't know them, I'll believe they're in a relationship when they say that they are. It's not up to me to speculate on their lives, so if early 2015 was when they were willing to go public with their relationship then that's the date I'll go by.

 

Besides, who's to say that they were together just because Tommy Chong says Peta smells like Maks? First of all, how does he know what Maks smells like? Second of all, who's to say they weren't seeing each other casually, or just sleeping together as a friends with benefits thing? That might be why neither Peta or Maks wanted to say anything about a relationship.

 

I truly think the whole idea that TPTB care about their pros being in a relationship with each other is pure unfounded speculation and a lot of correlation not equaling causation.

[Andie1]

I don't know them but I do know what publicity machines do, and I believe that the publicity machine at that time was very keen to keep Maks relevant when he was off the show. A great way to do that is romance rumors with another woman. So Peta stays at arms length, but still working for the family business. 

 

If, as Maks now says he wanted to marry Peta for a couple of years, it doesn't make sense that they would just be friends with benefits. You don't need to put a ring on that, however, that's exactly what he did the old fashioned way . 

 

Peta and Maks could be at the same wedding as bridesmaid and groomsman, just have Maks walk down the aisle with best friend Sharna, and voila, problem solved. Nothing awkward, oh maybe when Peta caught the bouquet?  Not at all, you could speculate she's was grabbing that bouquet for James Maslow.  But then,  Val dropped the message on insta that he loved her.  Odd that Val would do that in light of how the family felt about Karina when her and Maks called it quits.  But no matter, this is all well into Peta and Maks being broken up way back in June of '2014.  They are not supposed to be back together until they tell us, the following year.  I'm not going to listen to Val saying it's been so long that Peta's been family but this was "overdue"  How can the proposal be over due if they've only been back together a few months?  Oh well, if I was a person who didn't speculate I'd say they might have hit some rough patches as a lot of couples do, but they always had the same vocabulary, and that's why Val has been so anxious to become an uncle, and Sharna was saying "about bloody time" Since they will probably be best man and maid of honor, I kinda want to believe what they say. 

 

I was disappointed they decided to dump newly married  Oksana Dmytrenko. That was such a pretty tv wedding that Maks and Peta attended. Oksana was the tiny blond dynamo who added to the troupe and would have been a great pro with celebrities that are smaller in stature. Her husband Jonathan is also a very strong ballroom dancer and danced well together. I guess It's just coincidence that she was no longer on dwts. Val tweeted his disappointment.  And after ABC reporting on the wedding with all those ABC employees?  Gee, still no married pros on the show. 

Edited December 9, 2015 by Andie1

[birkenstock]

I wonder if the married pros thing will affect Witney and Lindsay in the future, in terms of partnerships?

 

Semi-recently engaged Witney, at least, has been so heavily featured the last few seasons and with contenders.  It didn't affect her this season because Carlos had Alexa competing on the show so no rumors of a showmance was going to happen.

 

Lindsay and Alek had a brother/sister thing going on and it was nice not to have an almost inevitable showmance just because two people in their early 20's were paired together. Of course, Emma filled that role, but luckily it wasn't a constant are they/aren't they like previous seasons.

 

It seems to be a sort of wedding season for the pros. I kind of like it since many of them have been on the show for years now.

[Andie1]

I think the married vs not married thing is sort of two-fold. 

 

Married pros are less likely to be drawn into showmances, so it would be rare for Tony for example, and it was rare for Anna when she was married to Jonathan.  Unmarried pros are more likely to find themselves the object of shipping, whether they welcome it or not.

Since Maks who was the unmarried "badboy of the ballroom" has been the guy who usually got the strong willed females, it seems to me the show wanted him to be dramatic. Oftentimes that drama leads to audiences having fairly strong feelings about the partnerships. So it's easier for the unmarried pro,  I think to be cast in a certain role.

 

But the other aspect of Married pros, is if the spouse who is also a dancer is on the show.  I think the show wanted to get rid of the idea that Edyta was pushing, the twofer.... you want Edyta, you also get Alec.  She wanted this for more stability and to work with her husband more. That's why they aren't keen on bringing in spouses who are dancers.  It becomes too costly if for example you want to cast only Alec and you don't need Edyta that season.  I think the show could be more creative when it comes to married couples, but that isn't the case.  So somebody like Lindsay - well her spouse isn't a dancer so she still can be cast a certain way, but I think they wanted to at least leave Lindsay as the wholesome girl who is engaged, same with Witney.  I don't see a lot of drama with these two, and that can go one of two ways. Either the audience is tired of the drama and just want dance with no other salacious agendas, or they will still crave drama and the dancers that bring it.

Edited December 9, 2015 by Andie1

[Lonesome Rhodes]

An unspoken issue for any married pro is what happens to the poor partner who would have to deal with any revelations of infidelity/cheating by said pro.  I can totally see the target viewer/voter punishing the star by withholding votes.

 

Marriages are a complication.  If I am BBCW, I most certainly would avoid them.

[BW Manilowe]

Bindi discusses her family's estrangement from her paternal grandfather:

http://m.eonline.com/news/722550/bindi-irwin-opens-up-about-family-s-estrangement-from-her-grandfather-steve-irwin-s-dad

[kitcloudkicker]

In other Bindi news, DWTS Australia apparently never asked her to do the show. Simple reason she ended up here. 

[PTVjones]

I thought it would be interesting to post the Tamar and Val clips for Tamar's show Tamar & Vince. I watched the premiere episode and was quite frankly shocked at how much DWTS content was in the show, and the fact that it was even allowed. I suspect that took some finagling on Vince's part as I'm sure he had to make that deal mutually beneficial.

 

What I find even more interesting however, is how hilarious they are together. Val's impersonation of Tamar's walk and grey hair joke legitimately had me laughing. When Tamar would say in interviews that he's a little brother type to her I think it's way more obvious in these extended rehearsal packages than the show ever really made it look. It goes to show you the power of editing and how the audience connects to contestants/couples. 

 

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3hqxpz_tamar-and-vince-valentay-moments-episode-1_people

[heartsaperkin]

Is the dog in the back seat?