The way they were. Gleb Savchenko and wife Elena Samodanova seemingly made a perfect match, but ultimately, they weren’t able to last forever.
The Dancing With the Stars pro and the Russia native wed in July 2006 and went on to welcome two daughters, Olivia and Zlata. In November 2020, the So You Think You Can Dance choreographer announced via her Instagram Story that she and Savchenko had called it quits.
“After 14 years of marriage with my deepest sadness our road is coming to the end,” she wrote at the time.
Savchenko later confirmed the news in his own statement, telling Us Weekly, “It is with a heavy heart that I tell you my wife and I are parting ways after 14 years of marriage. We still intend to coparent our wonderful children together who we love so dearly, and we will strive to continue to be the best parents that we can to them. We ask that you respect our family’s need for privacy and healing during this time.”
The Russian model rose to fame in 2013 when he first competed on season 16 of DWTS with partner Lisa Vanderpump. He later returned to dance with Jana Kramer in season 23, which aired in 2016. Over the next five seasons, he performed with Erika Jayne, Sasha Pieterse, basketball player Arike Ogunbowale, comedian Nikki Glaser and singer Lauren Alaina. In September 2020, the choreographer was partnered with Chrishell Stause for the 29th season of the dance competition.
News of Savchenko’s split came shortly after he and the Selling Sunset star were eliminated from DWTS in the eighth week. After being voted off the ABC show, the Kentucky native gushed over how “therapeutic” it was to turn her focus onto her dancing and to have Savchenko by her side throughout the competition.
“I know it should be a sad moment right now, because of course, I didn’t want to leave, but I’m so happy that I’ve had this experience and I’m so grateful,” she told Entertainment Tonight in November 2020. “It’s a once in a lifetime experience and I’ll never forget it.”
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Nearly one year after announcing their split, the former spouses finalized their divorce in October 2021.
Scroll down to relive Savchenko and Samodanova’s relationship timeline.
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