'DWTS' Maks on Aaron: He Won't Make the Top 3
Looks like that little trip to the Bottom Two last week hasn't shaken Maks Chmerkovskiy's confidence.
The fan favorite and his partner Debi Mazar were tied for third place, but shocked everyone (judges included) when they landed in the 'jeopardy' pack on 'Dancing with the Stars.'
"Debi and I did great, we have nothing to be ashamed of," says Maks. "That's just the nature of the show. What are you gonna do?"
It's also the nature of the show for some friendly smack talk, but dazzling young gun Aaron Carter, who's topped the leaderboard with his partner (and Maks' ex) Karina back-to-back weeks, went so far as to already declare himself the winner.
What does Maks think about that?
"I think he's full of himself. He has no clue what he is talking about. We have had people full of confidence before, but with Aaron, he's confident that everybody out there already proclaims him the best on the show."
"In my mind, there's also Mya, who in my assessment, is heads and shoulders above Aaron on his best days, and of course, Donny Osmond-this guy is
just so dedicated, he's constantly backstage practicing, even dancing by himself-he's incredible," says Maks.
"So we'll wait and see but I'm giving my prediction right now: This kid is not making it to the Top 3."
While the competition heats up on the dance floor, there's always chemistry brewing backstage on this show, so who's crushing on whom?
"There are crushes-but not the ones being talked about. Those are just decoys…we are all laughing at that."
So is the newly single bad boy working on any crushes himself?
"No, I am crushed," he laughs. "At this point, I am just trying to pick up the pieces," Maks says, referring to his broken engagement to fellow pro dancer Karina Smirnoff.
The couple called it quits just weeks before the Season 9 premiere and haven't publicly acknowledged the reason for the split.
"It's not something I'm going to talk about, but I will say, I feel betrayed. Life will put things in perspective, it is what it is. That's as far as I'm willing to go on that."
Maks says it's just made him more focused than ever on dancing and training Debi-and hanging out with the guys. "We got a ping pong table backstage now-me, Mark, Derek, we're always messing around back there."
But it's his partner who's helping him keep it together the most.
"Debi has been a Godsend," Maks says. "For her to come into my life at this point…she's been amazing…the way she's handled me and the way she's handled the situation and how's she helped in every aspect of my life."
Look for Debi and Maks to kick it tonight with a "light and enjoyable" samba-and no more drama. "We are a fiery couple, that is who we are, but I just want Debi to be comfortable and confident-this routine is fun," Maks says.
While Maks' fierce following will have to be on their toes with voting this week, some of his fans joked the real reason Debi and Maks landed in jeopardy is because they haven't seen Maks shirtless yet this season.
"Tonight I'm wearing no shirt, just a vest, and you know what, I was going to take it off at one point, so now I will for sure, you got it."
