A Los Angeles court has denied a request by former Dancing With the Stars professional Gleb Savchenko for temporary sole custody of his 15-year-old daughter, Olivia. The judge ordered the teenager's immediate return to Hong Kong to be with her mother, Elena Samodanova , following a hearing on September 15.
The 1980 Hague Convention and the September 15 Ruling
The legal battle centered on a petition filed by Elena Samodanova under the 1980 Hague Convention, an international treaty designed to ensure the prompt return of children wrongfully removed from or retained in a country. According to court documents obtained by the Daily Mail, Samodanova alleged that Gleb Savchenko wrongfully retained Olivia in the United States after a visit that began on July 9.
During the September 15 proceedings, the Los Angeles court determined that Olivia's habitual residence is Hong Kong. as a result, the court ordered her immediate return, and as reported by the Daily Mail, Olivia flew back to Hong Kong with Elena Samodanova that same night.
Weight-loss drugs and allegations of 'intolerable' conditions
Gleb Savchenko's opposition to the return was based on claims that Olivia would face a "grave risk of physical and psychological harm" in Hong Kong. in court filings, the 43-year-old dancer accused Elena Samodanova of pressuring Olivia to use amphetamines or weight-loss medication to maintain a specific physique for dancing, all without medical supervision.
Savchenko further alleged that Samodanova made derogatory comments about Olivia's weight, calling her a "disgrace to the family ," and pushed her to work to the point of exhaustion. According to the report, Savchenko claimed these conditions led the 15-year-old to struggle with severe depression, anxiety , and a habit of nightly alcohol and drug use to cope with her environment.
Canceled tickets and the claim of financial coercion
Elena Samodanova has denied these accusations, describing them as "empty words without any proof." In her own filings,the 41-year-old mother claimed that Gleb Savchenko was the one who disrupted the children's lives by canceling Olivia's return ticket to Hong Kong in July and attempting to enroll her in a Los Angeles school without consent.
To support her claims, Samodanova provided text messages from Olivia. In these exchanges, Olivia allegedly told her mother that Gleb Savchenko was forcing her to make certain statements by threatening to withhold her laptop, phone, and tuition payments. One specific message included a photo of Olivia crying, claiming her father told her he would no longer spend money on her, including her flight home.
The high-stakes pressure of the international dance circuit
This dispute reflects a broader, often volatile trend in the world of elite youth performing arts,where parents move children to global hubs like Hong Kong to access specialized training. The tension between a parent's desire for a child's professional success and the child's psychological well-being is a recurring theme in high-performance athletics and dance.
The legal complexity is compounded when parents reside in different countries.. The determination of "habitual residence" becomes the pivot point in these cases, as seen here, where the court prioritized the established living patterns in Hong Kong over the father's claims of an abusive environment.
The October 1 hearing and the status of 9-year-old Zlata
While the immediate crisis regarding Olivia has been resolved by her return to Asia, legal proceedings are far from over. A subsequent hearing is scheduled for October 1, which Elena Samodanova told the Daily Mail will address custody modifications and the reimbursement of her expenses.
One significant detail that remains underdeveloped in the current reporting is the status of the couple's younger daughter, Zlata, age nine. While Gleb Savchenko previously alleged that both Olivia and Zlata were wrongfully retained in Hong Kong, the recent court order specifically focused on Olivia's return. It remains unclear if Zlata's custody status will be the primary focus of the October 1 hearing or if she has remained in Hong Kong throughout the dispute.
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