Maks Chmerkovskiy took a break from the "Dancing with the Stars" ballroom on Monday's episode. Erin Andrews explained that his absence was due to a "personal issue," giving no further statement on the sudden nonattendance.
Filling in for Maks Chmerkovskiy was Alan Bersten, who got eliminated from the dance competition last week with celebrity partner Debbie Gibson. The newly promoted "Dancing With The Stars" pro joined Vanessa Lachey during the rehearsals before they took the stage and performed a jazz number set of "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" by Cyndi Lauper.
Maks skips 'DWTS' performance
For the "Guilty Pleasures" night, the pair earned a total of 23 out of 30 points from the judges, sharing the third place with Drew Scott and Emma Slater. Meanwhile, Lindsey Stirling and Mark Ballas secured the top spot with 27 out of 30 points following their performance of "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" by Wham.
Nothing much has been said about Maks Chmerkovskiy's absence from the "Dancing with the Stars" episode. Even his partner, Vanessa Lachey, refused to comment on his decision to skip this week's performance.
A source, however, told PEOPLE that the "Dancing with the Stars" pro reportedly decided not to perform for the "Guilty Pleasures" night due to his ongoing conflict with his celebrity partner.
“There’s a big chemistry issue,” a source claimed. “They both have big personalities, and that’s not always the best recipe for a good partnership.”
It added that the duo has been "fighting a lot" since they were paired for the dance competition. Both parties have yet to address these rumors surrounding Maks Chmerkovskiy's no-show on Monday's "Dancing with the Stars" episode.
'Family over everything'
It is still unsure if the pro will be back on the dance floor anytime soon. However, it appeared like the Ukranian-American dancer has been enjoying some time off with his wife Peta Murgatroyd and brother Val Chmerkovskiy.
In fact, the younger Chmerkovskiy shared a few snippets from his weekend bonding with his brother.
"The roof that kept me dry and when I asked to fly you took me underneath your wing and flew against the wind so high," he captioned on of his posts, along with the hashtag, "Family over everything."
Meanwhile, the "Dancing with the Stars" contestants and hosts opened the recent episode with a message to the victims of Las Vegas shooting that killed at least 59 individuals attending a music festival.
