Maks Chmerkovskiy spent 17 seasons as one of the most recognizable professional dancers on Dancing with the Stars before a quiet, guarded run on Season 2 of The Traitors ended faster than his fans expected. He reached the show’s final round five times before finally winning the Mirrorball trophy in 2014, a résumé built on nearly two decades of ballroom work that started long before American television ever knew his name.
Chmerkovskiy’s path to the ballroom started with a family that left Ukraine to give their children a shot at something bigger.
From Odessa to Brooklyn
Maksim Aleksandrovich Chmerkovskiy was born January 17, 1980, in Odessa, Ukraine, and immigrated to the United States with his family in 1994, at age 14, settling in Brooklyn, New York. He and his younger brother, Valentin, also a future Dancing with the Stars professional, trained in ballroom dance from early childhood under their parents, Aleksandr and Larisa Chmerkovskiy, who were dance instructors themselves. The family arrived with real financial and language barriers, and dance became the thing that gave both brothers a way forward in a new country.
Seventeen Seasons on Dancing with the Stars
Chmerkovskiy competed as a professional across 17 seasons of Dancing with the Stars, reaching the final round five times, with two runner-up finishes and two third-place finishes, before finally winning Season 18 in May 2014 with Olympic ice dancer Meryl Davis. Their freestyle earned a perfect 30 from the judging panel in the finale, and their combined two-night total of 90 edged out Amy Purdy and Derek Hough, with Candace Cameron Bure finishing third. That long tenure made him one of the show’s most established names, alongside stage work in Burn the Floor, which opened in 2009 and starred Chmerkovskiy alongside then-fiancée and fellow DWTS pro Karina Smirnoff, and a reunion with Smirnoff in Forever Tango on Broadway in the summer of 2013.
Chmerkovskiy’s DWTS run wasn’t without friction. Partnered with soccer star Hope Solo in Season 13, he clashed publicly with judge Len Goodman after Goodman called their rumba the worst dance of the season, firing back “maybe it’s time to get out then,” a remark that drew an on-air rebuke from fellow judge Carrie Ann Inaba. He and Goodman had history dating back to Season 10, when Goodman criticized him for ripping off his shirt during a routine with partner Erin Andrews; both later said the on-camera friction didn’t carry over into their real relationship.
| Season | Partner | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Season 10 | Erin Andrews | 3rd place |
| Season 13 | Hope Solo | Eliminated; public clash with judge Len Goodman |
| Season 18 | Meryl Davis | Winner, combined 90 across the two-night finale |
A Quiet Game on The Traitors
Chmerkovskiy joined Season 2 of The Traitors as a Faithful and tried to play a relatively low-profile game, staying out of the spotlight rather than pushing accusations at other players. That strategy backfired once Deontay Wilder, working alongside Sandra Diaz-Twine, grew suspicious of him. His guarded, careful answers under pressure read to the group as evasive rather than cautious, and he was banished in Episode 3, the third wrongly-accused Faithful eliminated in a row that stretch of the season.
Marriage, Three Sons, and a Studio Business
Chmerkovskiy married fellow Dancing with the Stars professional Peta Murgatroyd on July 8, 2017, at New York City Hall, after proposing onstage during a 2015 performance of Sway: A Dance Trilogy in Miami. The couple has three sons: Shai, born January 2017; Rio John, born June 2023; and Milan Maksim, born July 2024. Murgatroyd has spoken publicly about the difficulty of the years between Shai and Rio, including three miscarriages, one of which happened while Maks was in Ukraine working as a judge on the country’s version of Dancing with the Stars in October 2021, months before he was separately trapped in Kyiv during the early days of Russia’s 2022 invasion.
Alongside his brother Valentin and their father, Chmerkovskiy runs Dance With Me, a chain of ballroom studios with locations across the US, plus an online instruction platform called Dance & Co built out during the pandemic and since expanded, featuring instructors including Murgatroyd, Jenna Johnson, and Sharna Burgess.
Life Now
Chmerkovskiy has said he considers his in-competition DWTS career finished for good since his last season as a pro, though he still comments publicly on each new season, had some visible friction in late 2025 with newer pro Jan Ravnik over comments made on a podcast, and has since said he would entertain an offer to return as a pro or judge. In mid-2026, he and Murgatroyd permanently relocated to Boca Raton, Florida, listing their Los Angeles home for rent, and the couple committed to Burn the Floor’s 2027 North American tour. His brief Traitors run remains a footnote in a career mostly built on the ballroom floor, one covered alongside the rest of the season’s cast in OpenThreadNews’ Traitors Season 2 cast guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
How old is Maks Chmerkovskiy?
He was born January 17, 1980, in Odessa, Ukraine, making him 46 as of 2026.
Did Maks Chmerkovskiy ever win Dancing with the Stars?
Yes. He won Season 18 in 2014 partnered with Olympic ice dancer Meryl Davis, after two earlier runner-up finishes and two third-place finishes.
Is Maks Chmerkovskiy married?
Yes. He married fellow DWTS pro Peta Murgatroyd in 2017. They have three sons: Shai, Rio John, and Milan Maksim.
Why was Maks Chmerkovskiy banished on The Traitors?
He played a low-key Faithful game in Season 2, but his guarded answers under pressure read as suspicious to Deontay Wilder and Sandra Diaz-Twine, who drove his banishment in Episode 3.
