'Dancing With the Stars' 2014 Cast: Maksim Chmerkovskiy Quitting ABC Series As Dancer, 'It's Better If I Bow Out' [VIDEO]
Dancing With the Stars' most recent champion Maksim Chmerkovskiy has essentially confirmed that he will not be returning to the show in the future.
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Chmerkovskiy, who finally won the Mirrorball Trophy after 13 seasons competing on Dancing With the Stars in the spring, seems to want to go out on top. Winning with his celebrity partner Meryl Davis, he does not think that he will be able to invest as much, emotionally, in a future season.
"I just don't think I want to do the show again as a dancer," he admitted to Access Hollywood. "I wouldn't be able to do it again at this level, with that big of an emotional output."
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He added, "It's better if I bow out."
The dancer had sat out of Seasons 16 and 17 before winning in Season 18 this spring.
He also addressed the many rumors surrounding his personal life. The Argentinian-born dancer ended his relationship with Kate Upton months ago but he is now being linked to both Davis and pop star Jennifer Lopez.
"What would you like me to say? I'm not dating J.Lo, Meryl and Kate. Maybe I'm dating all three, who knows!" he stated. "I love Meryl. We're friends and we'll always be," but he said that his personal life "won't be anybody's business."
Dancing With the Stars Season 19 premieres with or without Chmerkovskiy in fall 2014 on ABC, though the network has not yet announced a specific premiere date. It will be returning in its regular Mondays at 8 p.m. timeslot.
