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Gleb Savchenko made an unexpected suggestion for the 33rd season of “Dancing With the Stars.”
The veteran pro dancer thinks the husband of one of his former partners would make a great addition to the celebrity ballroom competition.
Speaking with the U.S. Sun in a May 2024 interview, Savchenko suggested that Lisa Vanderpump’s husband should join the ABC dance-off. “Ken [Todd],” he said, referencing the 78-year-old restaurant mogul. “Ken, Lisa’s husband. He would be great. Because she did it, his wife did it and now it’s Ken’s turn.” The Russian American dancer also suggested that Emma Slater should be partnered with Todd.
Todd has made regular appearances on Vanderpump’s reality show, “Vanderpump Rules” since 2013, so Bravo fans know him well.
Lisa Vanderpump Admitted She Had an ‘Emotional Affair’ With Gleb Savchenko
GettyTV personality Lisa Vanderpump (R) and dancer Gleb Savchenko attend the 20th Annual Race To Erase MS Gala.
When Vanderpump was a contestant on DWTS season 16, she landed in 10th place with Savchenko. At the time, she told Life & Style she hoped her husband of over 30 years would be “jealous” of her handsome pro partner. “I hope Ken gets jealous… Sometimes, I feel like it’s almost being unfaithful,” she cracked in 2013, per Digital Spy. “I’m happy to be as unfaithful as it takes to make a good dance.”
Several years later, Vanderpump was still gushing about Savchenko. “Gleb was gorgeous,” she said in a 2020 episode of “The Bellas” podcast. “I did become very close to Gleb. I loved him. We had a little bit of an emotional affair in terms of having to connect and hold on to each other because it’s so scary.”
“When you’re thrown into ‘Dancing With the Stars’ and suddenly somebody’s right in your face and you’re wrapping your legs around them … That was the best part,” she laughed. “[Gleb] would say, ‘Do these backbends,’ and as you would do the backbends, he would hold your groin against his. And I was thinking, ‘I haven’t had this much fun since my honeymoon!’ [Ken] would be like, ‘I see you. I see what you’re up to.’ “
Gleb Savchenko Dissed Another ‘Vanderpump Rules’ Star’s DWTS Dreams
In season 32, “Vanderpump Rules” star Ariana Madix competed for the mirror ball trophy and made it to the finals, landing in third place with partner Pasha Pashkov. Vanderpump even returned to the DWTS ballroom to support her co-star.
Several other “Vanderpump Rules” stars, including Tom Sandoval and Scheana Shay, have expressed an interest in joining the celebrity ballroom competition. But Savchenko is not a fan of the dance skills of one of them. In an April 2024 interview with The U.S. Sun, he said he was glad that Madix joined the show instead of her co-star Shay.
Shay previously revealed that she was nearly cast for DWTS season 32 until her co-stars’ Scandoval cheating scandal brought more interest to Madix. In a March 2024 interview on Heather McDonald’s “Juicy Scoop” podcast, the bar star claimed she was told she was “right up there” on the list of potential contestants for season 32. She also shared that she began taking dance classes “just in case.” “If it wasn’t because of the scandal, I was gonna be on ‘Dancing with the Stars,’” Shay added.
In a previous interview, Savchenko told The U.S. Sun that while Shay was “an awesome girl,” he didn’t feel she had the skills or the celebrity power to compete on the show. He explained he helped choreograph Shay’s first dance for her 2014 wedding and that she “wasn’t easy” to work with. The dance lesson was featured on a “Vanderpump Rules Secrets Revealed” episode which filmed while Vanderpump was partnered with Savchenko on DWTS.
Shay responded in an April 2024 appearance on “Watch What Happens Live,” calling Savchenko’s comments “rude and uncalled for.”
Savchenko told The Sun he never meant to be “mean” to Shay and that he attempted to apologize to her, but that she ignored his DM and snubbed him when he saw her at Coachella.
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