Jen Affleck, Jan Ravnik React to Elimination, Maks Chmerkovskiy Criticism (Exclusive)

Freshman dance pro Jan Ravnik, partnered with Jen Affleck (The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives), was making headlines even before he and Affleck got voted off Dancing With the Stars this week.

Last week, former DWTS pro and Mirrorball winner Maksim Chmerkovskiy appeared on the podcast by his wife, two-time mirror ball champion Peta Murgatroyd, The Penthouse with Peta, stating that Ravnik has “absolutely no business being a pro” on DWTS. Ravnik, whose dance background includes having danced on Taylor Swift‘s Eras tour in 2023 and 2024, was criticized by Chmerkovskiy for not having enough experience or training in ballroom technique, a cornerstone of the reality dance competition series.

Still, Affleck and Ravnik did make it through week 7. On their last night, the couple earned 32 points, dancing a Contemporary to “Look What You Made Me Do” by (ironically) Taylor Swift. The pair picked up an extra two points in the Hustle & Lindy Hop Marathon, taking them to 34 for the night. It was a respectable tally, but, combined with viewer votes, not enough to keep them on in the competition.

“First of all, I want to say that Jan is a great human being,” three-time Mirrorball champion Mark Ballas told TV Insider of Ravnik. “I love him. We’ve had so much fun together. This is hard [work here]. He is an elite dancer. I didn’t make it this far on my first season.” (Ballas, partnered with Cheetah Girl Sabrina Bryan, went to week 6 in Season 5, his first.)

While Chmerkovskiy’s comments may have been grounded in what he feels DWTS was and should still be, Ballas points that the show “has moved on. It’s evolved. Jan did an incredible job with Jen. Clearly, they made it this far. He’s done so well.”

“Jan had a great first season,” concurs Pasha Pashkov, who is paired with Boy Meets World actress Danielle Fishel. “In most instances when people join the show as pros, I’ve already known them for a long time [from the ballroom dance world]. Jan, I did not know. I met him for the first time at the first rehearsal at the top of the season. I really, really like him. We clicked.”

“We both have similar sense of humor,” Pashkov continues. “We always laugh. We connect. I’m definitely going to miss his energy in the ballroom, but I know he’s going to be killing it out there for the rest of the season in all the other pro dances [that are done on the show].”

“Here’s something I would like to say about Jan,” Fishel says. “There is no doubt that every single pro on this show has improved week after week, season after season. You don’t always come in on your first season hitting home runs week after week. Jan continued to get better. I have nothing but incredible things to say about him. I’m going to miss him and Jen.”

Ezra Sosa, whose first season as a dance pro was just last year, can relate to the challenges that come with being a first-time pro on the popular program.

“[Jan] made it further than I ever could [in my first year],” Sosa, paired with Olympian Jordan Chiles, supportively says. “Honestly, he did such a spectacular job. He really let Jen shine every single week. He should be proud of absolutely everything he did on the ballroom floor.”

Disney/Christopher Willard

“It makes me feel great to hear all this,” Ravnik told TV Insider when he was informed about comments pros and their partners were making about him.

“I couldn’t ask for a better partner,” chimes in Affleck. “Honestly, if I could do this again, I would ask for the same [partner]. We had so much against us, but we still pushed through.”

“They all accepted me into their family,” Ravnik says about the DWTS company welcoming him. “Each week I got support from them. It’s just love. This show is all about love…the people who are in the show – not from people outside the show.”

Is Ravnik up for coming back to DWTS for Season 35? “We’ll see,” he responds. “We’ll see.”

Dancing With the Stars, Tuesdays, 8/7c, ABC