Jana Kramer admits Gleb Savchenko’s training style pushed her to breaking point
The star shares how communication struggles during 'DWTS' became one of her biggest challenges
Jana Kramer has revealed she nearly walked away from Dancing With the Stars after struggling with her professional partner Gleb Savchenko’s intense training approach.
The One Tree Hill actress competed on the show in 2016 and went on to reach the finale, but she admitted the experience was far more challenging than viewers saw on screen.
Speaking on her Whine Down podcast, Jana opened up about the difficulties she faced during rehearsals, explaining that she struggled with the way Gleb communicated while teaching her.
“I struggled with the Russian… culture and the way that they teach,” Jana said, with guest Hannah Brown adding that she also experienced similar challenges with her own professional partner.
Jana recalled a moment when the pressure became overwhelming and she considered quitting the competition altogether.
“They didn’t show this on the show, but I was like, ‘I’m done. I quit,’” she said. “At that point, you can push me so far… we’re done here.”
Hannah, who won season 28 of the show, explained that she also had conflicts during training because of different coaching styles. She said she later understood that her partner’s approach came from the way he had been trained himself.
Jana agreed that she did not believe Gleb was trying to be unkind and said his main goal was to win.
“I knew Gleb’s intentions weren’t that he was trying to be mean. He wanted to win too,” she explained.
Despite the struggles, Jana continued through the competition and finished as a finalist.
The actress has also recently spoken about the pressure of providing for her family and how financial responsibilities have influenced some of her career choices.
Jana, who is a mother of three, admitted she has accepted certain opportunities in the past that did not fully align with her values because she needed to support her children.
“There’s definitely some things, some ads that I’m like, ‘Oh, I wish I could have gone back and maybe not done that ad,’” she said.
However, she added that those experiences taught her valuable lessons about the decisions she wants to make moving forward.
“I’m not gonna do it again,” Jana said, explaining that she is focused on making choices that better reflect where she is in life now.
