Gleb Savchenko's Ex-Wife Claims He's 'Not Available to Take Care of Our Daughters' in New Filing

The Dancing with the Stars pro's ex-wife Elena Samodanova is requesting the change due to his "long work hours and travels"

By

Stephanie Wenger

Published on March 1, 2022 06:37 PM

Gleb Savchenko's ex-wife, Elena Samodanova, is requesting an amendment to the former couple's custody agreement due to his "long work hours and travels" in the upcoming year.

In court documents, filed on Monday and obtained by PEOPLE on Tuesday, Samodanava claims the Dancing with the Stars pro, 38, "refused to amend the schedule amicably" and she is requesting primary custody of their daughters, Olivia, 11, and Zlata, 4.

"I agreed to alternate parenting time every five days. Soon after the judgment was signed, [Savchenko]'s schedule changed and he was not available to take care of our daughters. Due to [Savchenko]'s long work hours and travels in 2022, he is unable to exercise custody pursuant to current parenting plan," she claims.

The mother of two also requests for the children to reside with her on all weekdays and alternating weekends when Savchenko is in Los Angeles for more than one day.

"I have facilitated visits when [Savchenko] is in Los Angeles and has the time to see our children as his schedule allows. I will continue to do so," she stated in the court documents. A hearing is set for March 21.

Attorneys for Savchenko did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.

Savchenko has been on the DWTS: Live tour, which is scheduled to conclude on March 27.

Last year, she made a similar request for full-time physical custody of their daughters as well as additional child support from her ex-husband, citing his busy schedule as a reason for the change.

Gleb Savchenko and Elena Samodanova. Paul Archuleta/Getty

In January, Savchenko spoke out about their ongoing custody battle.

"Unfortunately, there is misinformation being spread about me," Savchenko said in a statement at the time. "While I was hopeful to keep our divorce amicable and private for the sake of my children, I feel I must now respond to set the record straight."

"To clarify, my DWTS tour schedule runs from January 3rd to March 27th, and I have one day off during each week," he continued. "Due to our 50/50 custody split, that means there are 5 weeks where I would have allocated time with my children. I will be flying home one day each week to be with my kids. Furthermore, I have no plans to teach in Mexico, and no plans to participate as a judge in DWTS Sweden. Those statements are categorically false."

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At the time, Samodanova responded to his claims in her own statement.

"I'm unsure why my ex-husband is deciding to speak on any of this and comment on our personal lives in such a public way. But I refuse to play a part in any of it. Protecting my children and their well-being has been my only concern. And I will continue to do so," she said. "I decided that their quality of life should not be put into jeopardy because of our decision to divorce. Nor should they suffer due to our schedules."

Samodanova added in the previous statement, "As their mother, I am available to care for them and should while Gleb is on the road working. Bottom line. End of discussion."

In court documents obtained by PEOPLE last December, Samodanova asked the court to alter the former couple's parenting plan. "[Savchenko] travels extensively as a professional dancer and is not available to exercise the current custody/visitation schedule," she stated as the reason for the change.

The prior agreement was a 50/50 split, with each parent alternating physical custody every five days, according to the documents.

Savchenko and Samodanova first announced their split in November 2020 after 14 years of marriage. A judge signed off on their finalized divorce judgment on Oct. 22, according to previous court documents obtained by PEOPLE.

Savchenko previously opened up about maintaining a positive co-parenting relationship with Samodanova in an interview with Entertainment Tonight. "We're trying to move on, we're friends, we're co-parenting together, we're on great terms," he said at the time. "Co-parenting is fun. We made it a lot of fun for the kids."