Alan Bersten and Ilona Maher are just as confused by Gleb Savchenko and Brooks Nader’s split — and subsequent TikTok battle — as Us.
“We don’t know what’s going on!” Bersten, 30, exclusively told Us Weekly following the Tuesday, October 29, episode of Dancing With the Stars.
Maher, 28, joked that despite being confused, she and Bersten are invested in Savchenko, 41, and Nader’s TikTok war, telling Us, “We were sending them back and forth to each other. We have no idea what’s happening!”
Bertsen insisted the partners aren’t “taking sides” in the drama, to which Maher confirmed, “No, we wouldn’t.” Bersten teased that the duo are instead “just observing from the corner.”
Us confirmed on October 25 that former DWTS partners Savchenko and Nader, 28, called it quits about one week after they were eliminated from season 33 of the show.
One day earlier, Nader raised eyebrows when she posted a cryptic TikTok seemingly about their romance. “When he’s breaking up with me, but I never knew we were dating,” the text read in the October 24 clip.
Nader sat at a table as audio of Miles Teller in Whiplash played in the background. “I don’t think we should be together,” Teller’s voice said. “I’ve thought about it a lot, and this is what’s going to happen. I’m going to keep pursuing what I’m pursuing and because of that it’s going to take up more and more of my time and I’m not going to be able to spend as much time with you.”
Nader looked surprised in the video as she pointed at herself, asking, “Me?” She then sipped what appeared to be a margarita.
Us previously confirmed in September that Savchenko and Nader were “hooking up” amid their onscreen partnership for the dance competition. “Gleb ended things, but Brooks is continuing to live her best life,” a source told Us earlier this month.
Following their split, both Savchenko and Nader have become vocal on TikTok sharing videos that appear to be directed at one another.
“Strike me down if it was all for PR,” Nader wrote over one of her October TikTok videos, trolling her alleged showmance with the professional dancer. In the clip, she stood outside and suddenly fell to the floor, alluding to the fact that she was in an orchestrated relationship.
Savchenko has shared a few of his own TikToks, seemingly commenting on his ex. In a Monday, October 28, video, Savchenko lip-syncs to a sound titled “Eye for an Eye.” The audio says, “You strike me as the type of person who’s into revenge.”
Savchenko, who was wearing a white tank top and black Ray-Bans, then leaned into the camera and mouthed along with the reply, “I don’t call it revenge. I call it returning the favor.”
The pair’s DWTS family can’t keep up with all the back and forth. “I wake up and there’s three new TikToks,” Bersten told Us, noting Maher sends him new ones whenever she sees them.
“I’m like, ‘You gotta see this one now. You gotta see!’” Maher teased. “And then he’s like, ‘You gotta see this one!’”
The Olympic rugby player joked that she and Bersten are “talking s— to each other” about the social media battle, but have also asked their friends, “What’s going on?”
Maher surmised, “I think they’re having a relationship, and they’re also making some money off of it. I don’t know, hey!” Bertsen added, “Who knows what’s happening. We’re just going to observe.”
Dancing With the Stars airs simultaneously on ABC and Disney+ Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET. You can stream episodes on Disney+ the next day.
With reporting by Carly Konsker
