Maksim Chmerkovskiy News

Earlier today, we reported that Maksim Chmerkovskiy was excited to team up with Debi Mazar on season nine of Dancing with the Stars.

That may be true, but it turns out he wasn't that excited to marry fellow professional Karina Smirnoff. The pair has broken up.

The couple got engaged on New Year's Eve, but never actually seemed too keen on walking down the aisle. Asked about plans for the wedding a few weeks ago, Smirnoff said:

"The only thing we've decided on is next year in June. We were supposed to pick the place, but we've never actually had the time to go further."

Now, however, comes word from Karina's rep, courtesy of E! News: "I am confirming that they did indeed break up."

Will this sad news affect Maksim's performance with Mazar, or Smirnoff's with Aaron Carter? Tune in to the September 21 premiere of Dancing with the Stars and find out!

The new season of Dancing with the Stars kicks off on September 21.

To the delight of female viewers, Maksim Chmerkovskiy will be featured on it. The handsome professional is teamed with actress Debi Mazar and, as he told TV Guide, Maksim is very happy about that.

Here are excerpts from his interview with the magazine:

On Mazar: She's doing great. We're having fun. Well, we're having a lot of fun. She's really funny. She talks a lot. The energy's great. I think 50 percent of the accomplishment is how you can get along because it's a really long season and you want to spend it with somebody you're cool with. From the past seasons, we know the audience also likes the banter, the personalities who get along and show fun and excitement.

On possible dark horses: Donny Osmond — he has a fanbase that's so massive that he doesn't even need to dance, period. I think he'll do great. He's a great entertainer. Also, people like him bring popularity to the show and we all have a job! [Laughs] Kym [Johnson, Osmond's partner] and the types of dances she does, it will be fun watching him do them.

Mya — Dmitry [Chaplin, Mya's partner] will hopefully be able to pull it out of her. I think Mark Dacascos, on paper, is great. I remember watching him doing his thing with Jet Li. He could be one of the dark horses people don't think about. I think Debi will be great. [She could be] a dark horse too.

Why, oh why, Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Karina Smirnoff?!?

The pair, who seems to be happy together, are setting their relationship up for failure by agreeing to star on a reality show.

The engaged Dancing with the Stars duo haven't fully agreed to a contract yet, but the series would premiere in the fall and would follow the couple's bi-coastal, wedding-planning lives. Sounds... exciting?

“We haven’t signed on the dotted line yet, but hopefully it’s going to premiere this fall," Smirnoff told Life & Style. "The show’s just us trying to have a normal relationship being in the entertainment industry and opening a studio together.”

Right. Because, as Jon and Kate Gosselin - among countless others - have proved, shows that follow "normal relationships" always turn out well for the couple.

Maksim Chmerkovskiy is more than just a (VERY) pretty face.

The Dancing With the Stars professional understands the job market and, as a result, told Us Weekly on Wednesday that he'll be remaining on the show for the foreseeable future.

"In this economy, to have a job like this?" said the dancer, who was voted off with Denise Richards a few weeks ago. "Believe me, It's not a bad job!"

So, Maks, who do you think will win this season?

"It's between Melissa Rycroft, Gilles Marini and Lil Kim. I would be happy to see any one of them win," he said.

He didn't last very long this season, but click on the following photos for larger images of Chmerkovskiy and Richards...

Denise Richards stars in one of the most pathetic reality shows in television history, Denise Richards: It's Complicated.

However, Maksim Chmerkovskiy - her partner on season eight of Dancing with the Stars - says the actress herself is very simple.

“She is so kind,” the studly dancer told People. "I am not a morning person - our rehearsals are early for me, at 9 a.m. Denise brings me a fresh cup of coffee to practice every day. Sometimes she’ll make a nice sandwich for me and bring it from home."

Chmerkovskiy also claims Richards is focused on the task at hand.

“Denise is so dedicated to this show,” he said. “I don’t see any difference between how hard she works compared to working with [past partners] Misty [May-Treanor] and Laila [Ali]."

We admit, the actress does work hard... at exploiting her children every chance she gets!

Not only are Karina Smirnoff and Maksim Chmerkovskiy engaged, but the couple told Us Weekly this week that wedding preparations are underway.

"We started talking about it and figuring out when and where we're going to have it," Smirnoff said. "But there's so many family members that have a say that we got to try to make sure that everyone will be happy. But we think it will be sometime before the end of this year.

Both professionals in midst of rehearsing for Dancing With the Stars' upcoming season, debuting March 9.

We're really sorry, Maksim Chmerkovskiy.

The gorgeous Dancing with the Stars professional is stuck with Denise Richards as a partner for season eight of the show.

He seemed upbeat about it during a recent interview with TV Guide, however. A few excerpts from it:

TVGuide.com: How excited are you to be paired with Denise?
Chmerkovskiy: Very. Very. Things are happening up here [in my head], as to what we're going to do for our first dance... . I'm picking up on all the things she's been saying about her flexibility and the Pilates. Most of the things that are difficult for the celebrities are moving their legs and arms in different directions at the same time, to the music.

TVGuide.com: Coordination is important. [Olympic gymnast] Shawn Johnson might have the athleticism and Belinda Carlisle and Lil' Kim may have rhythm, but...
Chmerkovskiy: Lil' Kim is going to be up for a challenge, I think. We'll see. The cast is as diverse as it's ever been. All jokes aside, there are some people that I would probably not want to be paired up with. I lucked out with Denise.

Maksim Chmerkovskiy is very smooth on the dance floor.

Not so much when it comes to proposing, though, apparently, as new fiancee Karina Smirnoff told The Insider.

"It was the most perfect proposal ever - yet the most disastrous," the dancer said about the New Year's Eve proposal.

Chmerkovskiy proposed at the Wynn Las Vegas Hotel Resort and Casino on by handing his love a limited edition Louis Vuitton bag.

"The box with the ring [a 3-carat Harry Winston] was inside, and I thought it was the receipt or something," Smirnoff said. "When I opened the box, I freaked out and closed it again. I re-opened the box, and he still wasn't saying anything! He tried to form sentences, but nothing would come out. We both stood there staring at the ring."

Brooke Burke has nothing but positive words for reality TV's latest engaged couple, Dancing With the Stars' Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Karina Smirnoff.

"I'm really happy for them," she told Us Weekly at last night's People's Choice Awards.

As for her life on the dance floor, Burke added that she hasn't shaken her booty since conquering all competitors on last season's Dancing with the Stars.

"I haven't worn high heels!" she added. "I miss it a little bit, but it was a perfect way to end the year."

For Maksim Chmerkovski and Karina Smirnoff, 2008 couldn't have ended on a better note: the Dancing with the Stars couple got engaged on New Year's Eve in Las Vegas.

"I'm in love and so is she," Chmerkovskiy told People Magazine in an exclusive interview. "Everything is beautiful."

Regarding her new finace, Smirnoff said: "He is such a softie. The way he proposed was so romantic."

As the couple rang in the new year, Chmerkovskiy presented Smirnoff with a three-karat Harry Winston platinum and diamond ring tucked inside of a Louis Vuitton bag.