Maksim Chmerkovskiy Regrets Signing Up for Ukrainian 'Bachelor'

"Dancing With the Stars" pro Maksim Chmerkovskiy regrets signing up to appear on Ukrainian "Bachelor."

As he told People Magazine, "[It was] the hardest thing that I've ever done. If I knew then what I know now, I would never have signed up. I would do Dancing with the Stars for the rest of my life before I do something like this ever again."

Although the concept of "The Bachelor" seemed appealing to him when he signed up, he had no idea how difficult it would be to be continually breaking hearts.

Maksim was uncomfortable with the idea of people lining up as objects to be chosen. As he comments, "It's terrible and it's like I was back in high school." Is he implying that he was the one who lining up for girls? Or was he the one doing the picking in high school?

Despite his disappointment with the process, he did benefit from his experience as the Ukrainian Bachelor. There was a psychiatrist on staff whom he was able to talk to everyday. Maksim liked being able to speak to a professional on a daily basis and found the process "therapeutic."

I'm sure Maksim would find company in Brad Womack. Then again, given Chmerkovskiy's statements, I doubt he'd pull a Womack by subjecting himself to two seasons of reality TV dating.

Chmerkovskiy's attitude is quite a turnaround from January when he looked forward to appearing on Ukrainian "Bachelor." He had defended his decision by arguing that he wanted to do something for himself for a change. "This is the first thing in a VERY LONG TIME that I'm doing for ME. For the first time I don't really care what people think. First time that I'm not being 'judged', 'placed' or 'criticized.'" (as reported by TV Squad).

In hindsight, I suppose the process was just as difficult when his girls were being 'judged,' 'placed,' or 'criticized.' Given how many crying spells we saw from Jason Mesnick during his season and chats with his therapist, choosing a potential mate on national television is a strenuous process.

While some "Bachelor" franchise alumni would love to extend their fifteen minutes of fame ("Bachelor Pad", anyone?), many are ambivalent about their time on the show. Erica Rose ("tiara girl" from Prince Lorenzo Borghese's season) told Wetpaint that her life has gotten worse since she appeared on the show.

Erica confides that before doing "Bachelor," she had no problems getting dates or finding a boyfriend. Now that she's about to finish law school, guys are intimidated or were turned off by how she was portrayed on the show. Erica is hoping to appear on "Bachelor Pad 2" in order to "make things right and set the record straight in order for my life to come full circle and for me to be able to move forward."

Despite his difficult experience, hopefully Maksim has found love on Ukrainian "Bachelor."