Maksim Chmerkovskiy insists he and Jennifer Lopez are "just friends".
The ‘Dancing with the Stars’ professional has been linked with the ‘On the Floor’ hitmaker since her split from Casper Smart, but he insists there is nothing romantic about their relationship.
He said: "With the Jennifer thing, look, we’re friends and … we’re friends. This is it. This is where it ends, pretty much."
The hunky dancer has previously dated Karina Smirnoff and Kate Upton and admits dating in the public eye is difficult because the scrutiny can "ruin" a relationship.
He told the New York Daily News newspaper’s Confidenti@l column:
"I now understand why Hollywood is such a difficult place to have a good relationship in: because there’s all these interferences. Two people have to be so strong — and notice I didn’t say ‘in love.’ They have to be in love, but trust me, there’ve been situations when two people have been really in love, and all of this gets in the way and it completely ruins it."
However, the 34-year-old Ukrainian knows he is lucky not to have bigger problems.
He said: "Look, it could be worse, right? When we get together, all my friends are like, ‘Dude, I envy you — if this is biggest problem you have in life, good for you.’ "
Maksim admires the way A-list stars Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes – who are expecting their first child together – have been able to conduct their relationship in private.
He said: "Look at Eva and Ryan having a baby. I think their relationship is amazing, because it’s so quiet and nobody knows anything about it. And so those two people are professional, they’re amazing at what they do, and they’re strong enough to be able to keep it to themselves. That’s brilliant. I envy them and I look up to couples like this."
Maksim Chmerkovskiy is ‘just friends’ with Jennifer Lopez
