Maura Higgins slated by Dancing With the Stars professional Gleb Savchenko after misogyny accusation
The war of words between Maura Higgins and Gleb Savchenko has erupted as the professional dancer has dismissed her criticism of him in a strongly worded response.
Maura Higgins has been slammed by Dancing With the Stars professional dancer Gleb Savchenko after she accused him of misogyny.
The TV personality, 35, was recently confirmed as one of the first celebrities joining season 35 of the US ballroom competition, and said she hoped she would be paired with “anyone but Gleb”, citing the “way he talks about women” and her loyalty to her friend Brooks Nader, 29, who previously dated the Russian-born professional dancer, 42.
Responding to Maura’s remarks in a statement to the Daily Mail on Tuesday (04.08.26), Gleb hit back: “Until I was asked to comment on this story, I’d genuinely never heard of this girl, Maura, so I’m certainly not going to lose any sleep over the opinions of someone I’ve never met.
“It’s odd to publicly attack someone you’ve never even met, but if that’s how she wants to make headlines before the show starts, that’s her choice.
“I’ll stay focused and leave the unnecessary drama to everyone else.”
Maura made her views clear during an interview with E! News, saying: “I’d be happy with anyone but Gleb. That’s only because I’m loyal and I’m friends with Brooks.”
She added: “I don’t really like the way he speaks about women. I don’t really want to spend all my time with someone like that. I’m like, no thank you.”
The reality television star also suggested she would rather be partnered with professional dancer Valentin Chmerkovskiy, teasing the prospect of the pair dancing together in a social media video.
The disagreement follows the highly publicised end of Gleb’s relationship with Sports Illustrated model Brooks after the pair met while competing together on Dancing With the Stars in 2024.
Their romance, which played out on and off screen, became one of the show’s biggest talking points before ending amid a series of public disagreements and reports of a difficult split.
The latest fallout came after Gleb made explicit claims about the relationship during an appearance with Dakota Mortensen, the former partner of reality television personality Taylor Frankie Paul.
Speaking about Brooks, Gleb said: “When I dated her, it was pretty bad. Probably the worst sex of my life.”
He also claimed: “She was so f***** up. She wanted to make out with me, and I was like, ‘That’s not my vibe’.”
Gleb further alleged Brooks “choked me, pushed me against the wall, chipped my tooth”.
Brooks and Gleb first sparked romance rumours during the autumn of 2024 while partnered together on Dancing With the Stars.
Although they briefly reunited, including spending Thanksgiving with Brooks’ family, the relationship ended for a second time.
Following the split, Gleb told Page Six: “I was surprised to learn through article(s) published today… that Brooks has ended our relationship.”
An insider previously told Us Weekly: “Gleb got way too comfortable, especially in the amount of time he was spending at Brooks’ home, to a point it had begun to concern Brooks’ people and family close to her.”
Maura was added to the DWTS cast following her growing US profile after Love Island UK and her appearance on The Traitors US.
