Bonded in brotherhood! Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Val Chmerkovskiy made a splash when they joined Dancing With the Stars in 2006 — and their talks about leaving the show over the years have fans just as intrigued.
Maks, who is older than Val by six years, came in sixth place during his pro debut on season 2 in 2006. His partner was actress Tia Carrere.
Val, for his part, appeared on the same season, but only as a troupe dancer. The younger Chmerkovskiy brother made his pro debut during season 13 when he was partnered with Elisabetta Canalis.
Peta Murgatroyd’s husband, with whom she shares son Shai, went on to compete on 17 seasons on and off from 2006 to 2017. He won one mirrorball trophy during season 18 with Olympian Meryl Davis.
Following his official exit from DWTS in 2018, Maks has toyed with the idea of slipping back on his dance shoes. However, he is also open to judging or hosting the ABC show down the line.
“I would love to do that gig. That’s my thing. That’s my medium [and] that’s what I know. I know exactly what I am looking at,” Val told MassLive in April 2018 following a stint as a guest judge from 2013 to 2016. “I know exactly what I want it to be and exactly how to influence someone to do better in that genre. That’s what a judge should do, in addition to adding to the production. If that’s in my future, I would gladly accept it. If not, there are other opportunities. We are always moving forward.”
Two years later, Maks sang the show’s praises for giving ballroom dancing such a big platform.
“When the show is off, we’re not off from being heavy participants in [the] ballroom industry,” the former reality TV star exclusively told Us Weekly in May 2020. “For us, it’s a big deal that there’s a platform like Dancing With the Stars. … I keep saying the platform has been amazing. It’s great to see new faces especially representing ballroom dance.”
Val, on the other hand, competed as a pro on 17 seasons of DWTS. He took home two mirrorball trophies — the first during season 20 with Rumer Willis and the second on season 23 with Laurie Hernandez — and found love with fellow pro Jenna Johnson, whom he married in 2019.
For years, Val insisted that he was happy being a dancer on the show and didn’t have plans to switch up his role on the series. In fact, he exclusively told Us in July 2021 that while he thinks he’d “kill it” as the show’s host, he would rather stick to what he knows.
“I am very much content with continuing to dance and to perform on Dancing With the Stars, continue to teach. I just want a good partner,” he told Us at the time.
However, Val teased the possible end of his pro career following his elimination from season 30 in November 2021.
Scroll down to see everything that Maks and Val have said about leaving DWTS over the years: