Jenna Dewan‘s fiancé, Steve Kazee, is fiercely defending her after fans speculated about her alleged closeness with Dancing With the Stars pro partner Val Chmerkovskiy.
“They don’t have chemistry. They have too much chemistry. They have chemistry in the wrong places. Make up your minds,” Steve, 50, joked in apparent Instagram replies to coverage about DWTS. “Ya’all really got too much time on your hands. The spouses are unbothered, stay hatin’.”
Steve spoke out over speculation among fans on social media that Jenna and Val exhibited inappropriate intimacy in the ballroom given that both are in long-term relationships with other people. (Jenna and Steve have been engaged since 2020 while Val’s wife is fellow DWTS pro Jenna Johnson, who is paired with Glee star Harry Shum Jr. on the ABC reality competition this season.)
“Also put respect on my queen’s name and at least pronounce her name correctly when you try to slander her,” Steve also reportedly wrote to his fiancée’s critics.
Jenna, 45, and Val, 40, have steadily improved their scores each week during Dancing With the Stars season 35. The couple started off with a solid score of 19 out of 30 for their tango on the season premiere while they soared to 24 points for their rumba on “Mariah Carey Night” on Tuesday, October 6.
Last week, Steve showered Jenna with praise over how she’s handled both the pressure of DWTS as well as potential criticism from the judges and viewers.
“I could not be more in awe of this incredible woman,” Steve wrote after Yacht Rock Night on September 29. “The amount of literal blood, sweat, and tears she has poured into this journey over the last month has been beyond amazing to witness. The hours, the bruises, the blisters, the exhaustion, the nerves, the constant push to get better.”
The Tony Award-winning actor credited Jenna with giving herself “completely to this experience” of competing in the ballroom.
“Somehow, through all of it, she is joy,” he wrote. “I think in life we should all want the people we love most to have the chance to fill their hearts with the things that make them feel most alive. To challenge themselves. To surprise themselves. To remember parts of who they are that maybe got buried beneath work, parenthood, responsibility, and just the everyday business of life.”
Steve also celebrated the way his fiancée has handled “all the noise that comes with putting yourself out there” on a platform like Dancing With the Stars.
“The opinions, the chatter, and the criticism that, despite best attempts, feels almost inescapable in this age of the almighty algorithm,” he added. “And what has impressed me most is that she keeps showing up with an open heart.”
His lovely tribute concluded, “She listens, she works, she keeps learning, and she refuses to let any of it steal the joy she has found in doing this. I am just so damn proud of her and I am honored to stand beside her through it all. Keep dancing, baby. Keep filling up that heart. I’ll be right here cheering louder than anyone.”
Following this week’s live show, Jenna opened up exclusively to Us about the mental and physical rigors of training for DWTS.
“I keep saying that I knew it would be hard. I knew that would be a physically challenging situation. I didn’t realize how emotionally and mentally tough the whole process is too,” she told Us. “But it’s a good tough.”
Dancing With the Stars airs on ABC and Disney+ Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET.
