The legal dispute between Dancing With the Stars professional Gleb Savchenko and his ex-wife, Elena Samodanova, has intensified after Samodanova filed court documents denying his allegations and accusing him of failing to pay child support for 10 months.
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The latest filing, obtained by PEOPLE, responds to Savchenko’s emergency custody request involving the former couple’s 15-year-old daughter, Olivia.
Earlier this month, Savchenko asked a California court to grant him temporary sole legal and physical custody of the teenager while denying Samodanova visitation pending further legal proceedings. He alleged that Samodanova kept Olivia and the couple’s younger daughter, Zlata, in Hong Kong without his permission after what he described as a temporary relocation following their divorce.
Elena Samodanova Denies Ex-Husband’s Claims
In her response, Samodanova rejected those claims. She stated that both parents mutually agreed to relocate the children to Hong Kong after their divorce and argued that the city has become their legal and permanent home.
According to her declaration, Olivia attends a top school there and competes as an elite ballroom dancer. She also asserted that California does not have jurisdiction over the custody dispute because Hong Kong serves as Olivia’s legal residence.
Samodanova further alleged that Savchenko failed to pay child support for 10 months. In the filing, she said she sought assistance from child support enforcement authorities before the payments resumed.
The filing also disputes Savchenko’s account of recent events involving Olivia. Samodanova claimed that her daughter was scheduled to return to Hong Kong on June 5, but Savchenko canceled the airline ticket without her consent and kept Olivia in California. She characterized that decision as wrongful international retention and argued that Savchenko’s emergency filing attempted to bypass the appropriate legal process.
Savchenko previously alleged that Olivia does not want to return to Hong Kong and claimed that Samodanova made emotionally abusive remarks to their daughter. He also argued that allowing Olivia to return could result in international wrongful retention or abduction. Samodanova has denied those allegations and maintains that Olivia has flourished in Hong Kong.
The former spouses, who share daughters Olivia, 15, and Zlata, 8, finalized their divorce after announcing their separation in 2020.