Dancing with the Stars pro Gleb Savchenko faces another court battle with his ex-wife, Elena Samodanova.
On Monday, Elena filed new court documents demanding primary custody of the couple’s children.
According to the records, she claims that Gleb “refused to amend the schedule amicably” and that his “long work hours and travels” in 2022 make it impossible for them to continue with their previous agreement.
Gleb Savchenko’s ex-wife files for primary custody of kids
Gleb Savchenko and Elena Samodanova separated in 2020 after 14 years of marriage. The judge finalized their divorce in October 2021.
The couple has two children, Olivia, 11, and Zlata, 4. In the court filing, Elena said that Gleb had a lot of work coming up in 2022, and she wants the courts to award her primary custody of the two girls.
“I agreed to alternate parenting time every five days. Soon after the judgment was signed, [Savchenko]’s schedule changed and he was not available to take care of our daughters,” Elena claimed. “Due to [Savchenko]’s long work hours and travels in 2022, he is unable to exercise custody pursuant to current parenting plan.”
Elena wants the agreement to give her the girls on all weekdays and alternating weekends when Gleb is in Los Angeles for more than one day.
“I have facilitated visits when [Savchenko] is in Los Angeles and has the time to see our children as his schedule allows. I will continue to do so,” she stated.
Gleb is currently on Dancing with the Stars Live! Tour
Right now, one thing getting in the way of Gleb’s time at home is that he is on the road with the Dancing with the Stars Live! Tour.
A few pros, such as Sharna Burgess, chose to pull out of the tour because they wanted to spend more time at home with their families.
“I won’t go on tour for 11 weeks, though,” Sharna said, saying that she “didn’t want to leave my life and live on a bus for 11 weeks.”
In December 2021, Elena also asked for the same custody change and claimed his schedule as the reason then as well.
“[Savchenko] travels extensively as a professional dancer and is not available to exercise the current custody/visitation schedule,” Elena said at the time.
Their previous agreement was for a 50/50 split of custody, with each parent trading off every five days.
However, in January, Gleb said that the information about his busy schedule was false.
“While I was hopeful to keep our divorce amicable and private for the sake of my children, I feel I must now respond to set the record straight,” he said.
He admitted that the tour would keep him on the road until the end of March. However, he said the comments about his busy schedule for the rest of the year were wrong.
“I have no plans to teach in Mexico, and no plans to participate as a judge in DWTS Sweden,” he said. “Those statements are categorically false.”
Dancing with the Stars is on hiatus.