'DWTS' star Maksim Chmerkovskiy did not turn down U.S. 'Bachelor,' says source (Exclusive)

While it certainly would have been the most dramatic network crossover… EVER, Dancing with the Stars‘ resident hunk Maksim Chmerkovskiy did not, in fact, turn down an offer to star in ABC’s hit dating show The Bachelor, according to a show source. Though Maks writes on his blog that he “turned down the American version” of The Bachelor and will instead star in a Ukrainian version of the show, a show source tells EW that ABC did meet with the Dancing star but never offered him the gig as chief rose-master. Not only would the Bachelor‘s shooting schedule conflict with Dancing, which returns in March, the show has had limited success with “high concept” Bachelors (think The Fake Prince, The British Bloke, The Football Player) — and there’s no reason to think viewers would buy that notorious playboy Maks was there (all together now) for the right reasons. Reps for Chmerkovskiy did not immediately respond to requests for comment.