Gleb Savchenko is making serious allegations against his ex-wife, Elena Samodanova, in a new custody filing. The Dancing With the Stars pro claims Elena gave their 15-year-old daughter Olivia weight loss pills with no medical oversight and without his consent. He also alleges she made negative comments about Olivia’s body, removed her bedroom door as punishment, and gave her the silent treatment.
Samodanova’s team pushed back, claiming Savchenko was in contempt for enrolling Olivia in a California high school without her permission, and called his emergency filing a rushed attempt to bypass proper laws. A judge has now ruled that Samodanova gets final say on school and medical decisions, and the couple’s daughters, Olivia and 9-year-old Zlata, will remain with her in Hong Kong.
The former couple married in 2006 and split in 2020, and this dispute has been escalating for months. Savchenko previously claimed in July that Samodanova“abducted”the children and moved them to China, while he’s now asking for guaranteed custodial time and private communication with his daughters three times a week. It’s a lot to unpack, and at the center of it all is a teenager whose health and privacy are on the line.
What do you think, should parents need each other’s consent for a teen’s medical decisions?
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Local Lawton
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