The next installment of Dancing with the Stars just got a lot better looking.

“I am not quitting the show,” Maksim Chmerkovskiy said Wednesday, backing off previous comments he had made that suggested he was through with the reality competition.

The dancer’s claims about departing the show were made “at a time when I was very stressed out. Sure, there’s lucrative offers. There are things that I really want to do with my life other than this show, that’s a given. After coming down from two seasons back to back, ten weeks each season, it takes its toll.”

It certainly takes its toll in the love department, if you ask Sabrina Bryan, Mark Ballas, Mario Lopez or Karina Smirnoff!

Chmerkovskiy says he regrets speaking so casually about his future on Dancing with the Stars.

“This show is amazing and it’s rewarding. After last season I thought there’s no way I could top off the experience with [Laila Ali] and then I get [Melanie Brown] as a partner this season. I want people - especially my fans - to know that I appreciate their support. I am not turning my back on the show. I don’t want people to feel betrayed. I love this show.”

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Julianne Hough has been making sure to let people know that she and her dance partner, Helio Castroneves are just friends, and that she loves him like a brother. The rumors started in the first place because Helio called off his engagement with his fiancee, Aliette Vazquez. From People:

“Julianne Hough is shooting down rumors that she and her Dancing with the Stars partner, Helio Castroneves, are more than friends, exclusively to PEOPLE.

“Oh my gosh! No!” Hough told PEOPLE Thursday. “I love Helio like he is my brother. We are the best of friends.”

The buzz started after Castroneves confirmed Wednesday that he and his fiancée, Miami business executive Aliette Vazquez, had called off their engagement.

The night before, Castroneves had been crowned the season five Dancing champ.

Hough dealt with a similar situation herself last May when she called off her engagement to dental student Zach Wilson. Rumors circulated that it was because she and her season four partner, speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno, were an item—a rumor both Hough and Ohno vehemently denied.

Perhaps it’s because Hough has had undeniable chemistry with both of her athletic DWTS partners. But, as season five cast member Jennie Garth told Inside Edition Thursday, “When Julianne Hough dances she can have chemistry with a broomstick.”

Hough, 19, is currently in Orlando with Castroneves and several other DWTS cast members for the annual Disneyworld Christmas Parade.

Next week she resumes recording songs for her upcoming CD, which is due to be released in early 2008. Castroneves, meanwhile, will return to Los Angeles for several media obligations before getting “back to my territory, racing the Daytona 24 hours in January,” he said.”

Eh, sounds fairly convenient, and Julianne and Helio do look pretty comfortable with each other. However, photography is all about appearances. But on the other hand, I will be very surprised if we don’t hear more about these two later on.

Sorry, Dancing with the Stars fans: you’ve seen the last of Maksim Chmerkovskiy on your show.

The hunky professional told TV Guide that “the 25 million viewers are going to remember me whether I’m there or not,” referring to his decision to skip out on season six, which kicks off in March 2008.

But why would Maksim Chmerkovskiy leave the show that made his (long, complicated) name known across the country?

“This is a very lucrative world,” he said of Hollywood. “And I spent some time here just looking around and going, ‘Wow, this is an amazing house.’ But I’m a very analytical person. And right away, I looked past the curtains and I saw the drugs and the difficult lifestyles and the failed marriages. And I saw absolutely no family values — and that is the most important thing.”

Ouch. Might he have been referring to Helio Castroneves supposedly ditching his fiance for Julianne Hough?

It’s hard to know for sure, but Maks was at least clear that he loves his last two partners on the show: Laila Ali and Melanie Brown.

“It’s really important to me to maintain the relationship after the show,” he said. “With Laila, I love her. But it didn’t work because she’s a very private, very reserved person. But this season, with Mel, this is a person I’ll be able to call any time and say, ‘Hey, I’m in town. Let’s have dinner.’”