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Hope Solo and Maksim Chmerkovskiy were volatile from the very beginning of season 13. You didn't need to have degree in psychology to realize that. It's part of why we loved watching them. Hope and Maks both really wanted to win. But we are learning now that maybe that intensity wasn't a good thing -- even if it made it more fun to watch!

Everyone on the show clearly wants to walk away with that Mirror Ball trophy, but no one wears their emotions on their sleeve quite like Maks. And a new book out by Hope Solo, Solo: A Memoir of Hope, makes some pretty strong accusations against Maks.

Solo outlines clearly how Maks treated her during practice:

He was often nasty, swearing at me and being harshly critical. ... I didn't like being treated like that, but I could take it.

You read that part and you think -- meh -- that's not so bad. What they are doing is intense. And even Hope acknowledges that she was willing to "take it." But then you read on and it gets so much worse:

He manhandled me in rehearsals from the start, pushing me, whacking my stomach, bending my arms roughly. I thought that was just how it went – how dancers worked with each other. I was tough. I could take it. But it kept getting worse. One day, Maks was trying to put me in a certain position and hit my stomach so hard with his open palm that I had a red hand-print there for the rest of the day.

She even mentions how one day Derek Hough stepped in to finish practice with her because of how off-the-rails Maks was being ... and that Maks even slapped her in the face during a particularly intense rehearsal.

Maks did respond via his Twitter account, @MaksimC, saying:

Always hated hypocrites and liars...but when someone is both AND an opportunist, I just feel bad for them. Can't win at someone's expense...

and with:

Life's best lessons are the ones that you smile through.....while they hurt you the most! I'm bullet proof....FIRE AWAY!

And he also says that they've seen each other since they competed together and is shocked by her revelations.

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What I don't understand is, if all of Hope's accusations are true, why was this allowed to continue. I know it makes for good television -- but come on! Wouldn't the producers step in? Plus ... clearly each of these stories can be backed up. They were being filmed the entire time, weren't they?

I love Maks but you have to admit he is crazy intense. It will be really interesting to see how things play out ... espcially since the upcoming All-Star Season is just around the corner. I am sure all eyes will be on Maks and partner Kirstie Alley.

Who do you believe? Can you see Maks doing the things Hope says he did?

Image via ABC