Dancing With the Stars Pro Gleb Savchenko Alleges Ex-Wife Gave Their Teenage Daughter Weight-Loss Medication Without Medical Oversight
By [Staff Writer]
Longtime Dancing With the Stars professional dancer Gleb Savchenko is raising serious concerns about the well-being of his 15-year-old daughter, Olivia, amid his ongoing and increasingly contentious custody dispute with his ex-wife, Elena Samodanova. According to court documents obtained by Us Weekly on Tuesday, October 13, the 43-year-old dancer has filed new allegations claiming that Olivia has been subjected to harmful treatment while in her mother’s care in Hong Kong, ranging from cruel comments about her appearance to the administration of weight-loss medication without proper medical or parental oversight.
Savchenko, who shares two daughters with Samodanova—Olivia, 15, and Zlata, 8—stated in the filings that Olivia told him she has been the target of “derogatory comments about her body, weight and appearance.” These remarks, he fears, could fuel insecurity and emotional distress during an especially fragile stage of adolescence. But Savchenko did not stop there. The filings further allege that Olivia has “been given weight-loss medication without appropriate medical oversight and without the parental consultation required by the existing orders.”
The dancer also claimed that his daughter has endured prolonged periods of the silent treatment and that her bedroom door was removed from its hinges as a form of punishment. These incidents, he argued, paint a troubling picture of a home environment that is not supportive or nurturing to a teenager’s emotional and physical health.
Despite the gravity of these allegations, Savchenko was careful to express a sense of hope. In his declaration, he acknowledged that Olivia is currently upset with him, but he suggested that her frustration is rooted in influences from her mother rather than any genuine rift between father and daughter.
“Even though Olivia is currently upset with me (for reasons her mother has influenced her to believe), I know within time she will be back to herself, wanting to see and stay with me because I provided Olivia with a hostile-free, loving and accepting home for her,” Savchenko wrote.
At this juncture, Savchenko is not asking the court to relocate the children’s primary residence to the United States. Instead, his request is more targeted: he wants any order permitting the children to remain in Hong Kong to come with explicit, enforceable protections aimed at safeguarding their physical and emotional well-being.
The new court filing arrives against the backdrop of a lengthy legal war between the former couple, who split in December 2022 after 14 years of marriage. The dissolution of their marriage has been complicated by geography. Savchenko resides in Los Angeles, while Samodanova has established her life, and the girls’ lives, in Hong Kong. That distance has become a central theme in the custody battle, shaping both the practical logistics of parenting time and the emotional toll of separation.
According to Savchenko, Olivia had been spending time with him in the United States, but she returned to Hong Kong in September after a court order mandated it. The constant back-and-forth across the Pacific, he explained, makes maintaining a meaningful father-daughter relationship nearly impossible under the current arrangement.
“My relationship with the children depends almost entirely on long, predictable blocks of time during school holidays and on reliable telephone and video contact in between,” he claimed in his court documents. “Each trip between Los Angeles and Hong Kong takes approximately 13 to 15 hours of flying each way, and round-trip airfare for the children is approximately $2,550 per child per trip. Short, uncertain or last-minute arrangements do not work for a family separated by an ocean.”
The financial burden of these international visits is another point of contention. Savchenko emphasized that the travel costs stem from his ex-wife’s decision to remain in Hong Kong rather than returning to California. Still, he indicated a willingness to do whatever it takes to preserve his time with his daughters. “I am willing to advance the children’s reasonable airfare and required travel expenses for my parenting periods so that my time with them is never delayed by disputes over payment,” he wrote. However, he added plainly, “I should not bear those costs alone.”
Samodanova has not yet publicly responded to Savchenko’s latest allegations and declaration. Us Weekly has reached out to both parties for additional comment, and TMZ was the first outlet to report on the newly filed court documents.
This latest development only deepens a custody conflict that has already spilled into the public eye. Earlier this year, Samodanova pushed back against Savchenko’s narrative, defending her role as a devoted and hands-on mother. In a statement to Us Weekly in July, she argued that her daughter is thriving under her care.
“Olivia is thriving in Hong Kong — she attends a top school and is an elite ballroom dancer,” Samodanova said at the time. “Hong Kong is Olivia’s permanent home and legal residency — ironically, Gleb himself holds a Permanent Resident card there.”
She also pushed back on any suggestion that she has not been the primary caregiver. In previous responses, Samodanova claimed that she was the one who raised Olivia every single day while Savchenko was working full-time on Dancing With the Stars and was often absent due to the demands of the show.
Just one month after her July defense, Samodanova addressed the pain of having her parenting called into question on such a public stage. In an August 17 statement to Us Weekly, she said her heart was “broken” by the way the custody battle had become headline news.
“My concern is not about winning a public argument. It is about protecting my daughter’s well-being, stability, education and future,” she said. “Olivia loves both of her parents deeply, and her father is an important part of her life. I respect that relationship and always will. But loving both parents should never require a child to be placed in the middle of a legal or public battle. As her parents, we have a responsibility to put her future ahead of our disagreements.”
Those words now carry a heavier weight given the accusations in Savchenko’s latest filing. While Samodanova has not yet responded to the specific claims about weight-loss medication or the removal of the bedroom door, the legal battle is far from over. For Savchenko, the urgency is clear: he believes that his daughter’s health and happiness are at risk, and he is turning to the courts to step in.
Savchenko has been a fixture on Dancing With the Stars for many seasons, known for his charisma and athleticism. However, his personal life has increasingly taken center stage, and the ongoing custody dispute has cast a shadow over his public persona. The pro dancer, who was notably absent from the season 35 cast announcement, addressed his absence in September, telling fans via Instagram, “Guys, I promise… I’m good 😂❤️. Nothing but love and gratitude for all the years in that ballroom. Excited for this next chapter — and wishing [the cast] the best.”
At the time, many fans speculated about whether his personal difficulties played a role in his departure from the show. Now, with these new court documents, the stress he has been navigating behind the scenes appears far more serious.
As the custody battle continues, the central question remains: what is in the best interest of Olivia and Zlata? Savchenko’s lawyers appear to be building a case that the girls need more robust legal safeguards while living overseas. His plea is not for custody to be transferred to him outright, but for the court to impose conditions that would protect the children from the alleged harms he has described.
Those conditions could include requirements for medical evaluations, counseling, communication guarantees, and perhaps limits on certain disciplinary measures. But without Samodanova’s response, it is unclear how the court will weigh these allegations.
For now, Savchenko waits. He has expressed confidence that Olivia will eventually see things differently, and he continues to emphasize his willingness to provide a loving, accepting environment for his daughters. “I provided Olivia with a hostile-free, loving and accepting home for her,” he wrote, signaling his belief that the bond they share is strong enough to endure this difficult chapter.
The legal fight between Savchenko and Samodanova has already stretched across continents, consumed the attention of tabloids, and put their private struggles on display. With these new allegations, the stakes have grown even higher. Whatever the court decides, the future of two young girls hangs in the balance, caught between two parents who both insist they are acting out of love. And as the distance between Los Angeles and Hong Kong remains vast, so too does the gap between their versions of the truth.
