Dancing With The Stars pro Gleb Savchenko had to call 911 after he contracted the COVID-19 Delta variant. The now healthy 37-year-old star is gearing up for the new season 30 of the hit ABC show. Though there’s no news on who his celebrity partner will be, Olympic gymnast Suni Lee, Netflix’s Bling Empire‘s Christine Chiu, The Real Housewives of Atlanta star Kenya Moore, beauty influencer Olivia Jade, Spice Girls’ Mel C, The Bold Type‘s Melora Hardin, and The Talk‘s Amanda Kloots are all up for options this season. Nickelodeon star JoJo Siwa is another female contestant, but as previously announced, JoJo will be making franchise history as the first contestant in 30 seasons to have a same-sex partner.
This will also become Gleb’s first season as a single father, a major change in which the pro dancer hopes to tackle by planning rehearsals around his kids’ schedule. Though Gleb is now separated from Elena Samodanova after 14 years of marriage, he’s no longer single as it was previously reported that the ABC star is now dating Swedish model Elena Belle. The two were spotted enjoying time in the Miami sunshine two weeks ago at the Carillon Miami Wellness Resort. The fit couple put their love on display by posing for the cameras and teasing each other on social media. Elena was previously married to Michael Theanne but unfortunately became a widow when he passed away from a heart attack in February 2020. They share a 3-year-old daughter together, which seemed to be a bonding conversation for the newly developed couple.
Reflecting upon the time when Gleb wasn’t vaccinated, he told AJ McLean and Cheryl Burke on their podcast Pretty Messed Up that he got very sick with the Delta variant three months ago. “I’ve never felt worse in my life. My heart was like 167 beats per minute. I fainted a couple of times. I called 911 twice,” Gleb admitted. For reference, a typical adult male heart rate ranges from 60 to 100 beats per minute. Looking back, Gleb believes to have caught the virus when he was flying to Texas for work. “It was pretty bad, I came back [from the trip] and I felt like crap. I went [to get tested] and it was negative. I was dying. Literally dying. I felt like I couldn’t breathe. It was just bad,” he said. “I went a third time and they were like, ‘You’re positive.’ I was home for two weeks.”
Soon after he recovered, Gleb revealed he went to get his vaccinations, a move he encourages everyone to do. “Everybody who’s not vaccinated, go get vaccinated ’cause that sucks,” he said. Now that the dancer is feeling better, Gleb told ET that while he’s excited to get back on the ABC dance floor, balancing his kids and work will be a new challenge for him. “It’s so scary,” he said of being a single father. “We share custody 50/50, so a week with Elena, a week with me. I interviewed several babysitters, so literally I’m just going to try to do it all.” Gleb continued to explain how he’s sort of navigating through this new path blindly but aims to be the best father he can be. He says he does not want to miss out on the special moments, so he is doing what he can to make it work.
While life might be stressful for Gleb, fans are just happy he is healthy and returning back to the dance floor after his scary encounter with COVID-19. ABC is likely very proactive in ensuring their dancers keep up with their doctor appointments so there are no surprise symptoms that Gleb will experience while competing this season. As for figuring out his children’s schedule while performing on Dancing With The Stars, the new lifestyle will feel more and more normal as time goes on.
Sources: Pretty Messed Up, ET
