Vanessa Lachey Downplays Drama Amid ‘Miserable’ ‘Dancing With The Stars’ Partnership With Maksim Chmerkovskiy

Vanessa Lachey is speaking out about her partnership with Maksim Chmerkovskiy on Dancing With the Stars. After Chmerkovskiy mysteriously no-showed for the couple’s Week 3 dance, rumors surfaced that Lachey and the Ukrainian pro dancer have been butting heads in the ballroom.

But now, Vanessa Lachey is downplaying the reported drama with her Dancing With the Stars partner. While both stars have “big” personalities and insiders say they are “miserable” working together, the former Total Request Live host says she holds back when dealing with Chmerkovskiy.

“I just know that when I’m on set he’s my coach and I’m the student, so I listen a lot more and I don’t speak up as much because this is a field I don’t know,” Lachey told Us Weekly.

“He’s trained me and taught me so many amazing wonderful new things just like any trainer would or teacher would. But at home, I think I’m a lot more outspoken!”

While Vanessa Lachey claims that she holds her tongue when working with Maksim Chmerkovskiy and plays student to his teacher, Dancing With the Stars insiders say the two stars just don’t click.

“There’s a big chemistry issue,” an insider told Entertainment Weekly. “They both have big personalities and that’s not always the best recipe for a good partnership.”

Insiders told Us “there is a lot of fighting going on behind the scenes” with Maks and Vanessa and that they are “miserable paired with each other.” Some sources speculated that Maksim Chmerkovskiy won’t return to dance with Vanessa and that Alan Bersten, Maks’ Week 3 fill-in, could be her permanent new partner.

But Vanessa cleared that mystery up, too. Lachey posted to Instagram to thank Bersten for filling in to partner with her this week and also to tease the return of Maks for next week.

“I can’t WAIT to get started tomorrow with @maksimc on week 4! We’re cookin’ up something special for you!” Vanessa wrote.

Dancing With the Stars fans were surprised when it was announced that Maksim Chmerkovskiy was dealing with “a personal issue” last Monday and that Alan Bersten would be stepping in to dance with Vanessa Lachey. Even more unusual was the fact that the usual pre-taped rehearsal package for Chmerkovskiy and Lachey wasn’t even shown. There have been rumors that Maks Chmerkovskiy refused to rehearse with Vanessa Lachey last week.

This isn’t the first time Maksim Chmerkovskiy has had trouble with a Dancing With the Stars partner. Maks famously butted heads with his Season 13 partner Hope Solo, later admitting he truly disliked the Olympic soccer player.

Take a look at the video below for more on the relationship between Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Vanessa Lachey on Dancing With the Stars.

Dancing with the Stars airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

[Featured Image by Eric McCandless/ABC]