Is Maksim Chmerkovskiy Leaving 'Dancing With The Stars' After Season 25?

His run at a second mirror ball trophy came to an end this week following a shocking double elimination during Halloween night on "Dancing With the Stars." Now, in an Instagram tribute to his partner, Vanessa Lachey, Maksim Chmerkovskiy may be hinting that Season 25 was his last one with the ABC show.

Lachey and Chmerkovskiy, collectively known as Team Babies and Ballroom, were eliminated from the competition on the Oct. 30 broadcast, alongside fellow competitors Nikki Bella and Artem Chigvintsev, known as Team Smackdown. Their elimination came just one week after their respective spouses, Nick Lachey and Peta Murgatroyd, were also eliminated from the competition.

In an Instagram post the following day, Chmerkovskiy praised his time with his former partner, with whom he had previously had trouble with, but also indicated that it may have been his last season with the popular reality competition program as well.

"This was one of the most eventful seasons I've ever had and, if it were my last, I wouldn't want this journey to end any other way," the end of his photo caption read.

The statement does not indicate a definitive decision to leave the show behind, though it wouldn't be the first time he left the series. After competing every Season between Seasons 2-15, he left the show before returning in Season 18, where he won the Mirrorball with partner Meryl Davis. He then once again left the show, before returning for Seasons 23-25, though his time on Season 24 was brief following a devastating calf injury which took him out of the competition for much of partner Heather Morris' run on the show.

However, Chmerkovskiy's statement on Instagram also does not mean that if he opts out of the show for Season 26, that it would be his last. In a pre-Season 25 interview with International Business Times, he indicated that choosing to be on any season going forward was something he and Peta both needed to consider, now that they are parents to a son, Shai.

"Before this was always a million-dollar question, 'Will Maks return?'" he said at the time. "But now it's not, it's more of a domestic issue. So, I figure things out on my behalf, and Peta has a team that she consults with, and so they figure out stuff as well. But we obviously prioritize Shai, and it's important to both of us to make sure that our time with him is not being cut into. It's one of my main things that I want to be around all the time, and I see all the things that happen."