‘Dancing with the Stars’ popular and often controversial pro dancer Maksim Chmerkovskiy is hanging up his dancing shoes and walking away from the hit ABC show at the end of this upcoming season.

Maksim who will be dancing with Kirstie Alley on the All Stars season as his last announced his decision to quit via the New York Post:

“What else do I have to do there after 15 seasons? It makes total sense. The audience can’t expect for me to want to stick around, and the producers can’t expect for me to want to stick around.“

Maksim who does not mince his words also explained his frustration with the show that made him famous: “Essentially, 80% of our job is to give somebody another push in their career. Or we make them into likable characters. But at the end of the day, they go off and they better themselves.” He added, “I loved doing it. But to be honest with you, at 32, I am at what-about-me time. I am not thinking that with me leaving, the show will go off the air or anything. Like my dad said, ‘There are no irreplacable people.’ I wish them the next 50 years of success. But I have to do something else. I need to move on for me.“

Maksim hopes this does not mean that you will never see him again on the small or even big screen. He already has booked a movie gig and plans on a reality show with his brother Val.

“I never thought I was ready [to act]. Then I had a whole day of reading with the director and casting director, and I enjoyed it so much! I caught the bug, as they say. This is something I really want to do.”