After being dogged by rumors of a split for months, OK! has confirmed that Mario Lopez and Karina Smirnoff have called it quits.

Karina, who began dating the Saved By the Bell star in 2006 when they were partnered together on Dancing With the Stars, announced the split on the red carpet at the A-list Bravo Awards on Wednesday night, telling OK!, “I just wouldn’t be a great girlfriend right now, Mario’s a great guy.”

The couple’s busy schedules were no doubt a strain on their relationship. Mario recently told OK! that he wasn’t going to have a free day until September, with a commitment to perform on Broadway in A Chorus Line, as well as promoting a fitness book and gearing up for the second season of America’s Next Dance Crew.

During the most recent season of DWTS, Karina was paired with sexy singer Mario, sparking rumors of a romance that were subsequently denied. More recently, the Ukrainian-born beauty was spotted out and about with E! personality Michael Yo. The two were recently seen dancing and canoodling at a recent event at Hollywood eatery Beso.

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Last week, Mario Lopez faced a storm of media attention when one website felt compelled to write a story claiming that the former Saved By the Bell star had split from his gal-pal, Dancing With the Stars pro Karina Smirnoff. Turns out the rumor wasn’t all it was cracked up to be — and Mario says that Britney Spears is somehow to blame!

“See what happens when Britney starts behaving?” he joked to the NY Daily News. “People start making up all kinds of things.”

Mario also told the paper that he and Karina aren’t just not broken up — he’s even taken her to meet his mom, not a step he takes lightly. “I learned a long time ago that I only introduce them to mom if they are going to be around for a while,” he explains.

It’s been a long few months for Mario and Karina, who have not only had to weather false reports of a split — but also that she was high-stepping out on her man with new dance partner, the one-named pop star Mario.

Additionally, Lopez recently talked to OK! to shoot down reports that he was somehow involved with socialite Phoebe Price. “I don’t even know who that is!” he laughed.

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Despite a people.com report, Dancing With the Stars’ Karina Smirnoff says she and beau Mario Lopez haven’t called it quits.

“You know, everybody goes through ups and downs in their relationships,” she told Usmagazine.com in a telephone interview Tuesday. “That’s kind of a given, and it’s normal. But Mario and I are going strong.”

Lopez, she said, “is a great guy, and I support him 100 percent, and I know he supports me.

“We are totally fine – and I’m not moving out!” she added. “You guys will be the first to know if I’m moving out.”

Smirnoff met the actor on the third season of the hit ABC show when he was a contestant.

In March, Smirnoff told Us “there is nothing” to rumors she’s hooking up with her current DWTS partner, R&B singer Mario.

“We have a completely professional relationship,” she told Us. “I have a lot of respect for Mario. He is a great person.”

Lopez told Us just two weeks ago that the rumor was “funny.”

The actor, best known for his role in the ’90s show Saved By the Bell, is currently starring in Broadway’s A Chorus Line.

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Mario Lopez and Dancing with the Stars pro dancer Karina Smirnoff have recently split, a source confirms to People.

The couple, who met during Dancing’s third season, never publicly acknowledged their relationship despite the fact that the pair were living together in Lopez’s Los Angeles home. A source tells People Smirnoff is moving out of Lopez’s digs.

Lopez’s personal rep, Lisa Perkins, says, “It’s my policy to not comment on my client’s personal life.”

Smirnoff, who is now competing on Dancing’s sixth season with R&B star Mario, has been spotted recently with E! Entertainment personality Michael Yo. The two were seen dancing and canoodling at a recent event at Hollywood eatery Beso.

Lopez, meanwhile, is starring in A Chorus Line on Broadway, and recently returned to the ballroom with 18 Chorus Line dancers to tape a synchronized number to air on Dancing’s 100th episode on May 6. He’s also about to embark on a national tour to promote his upcoming book, Mario Lopez’s Knockout Fitness.

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WENN

Mario Lopez’s opening night in A Chorus Line on Broadway didn’t run as smoothly as he had hoped – an audience member suffered a heart attack mid-show.

The former Saved By The Bell star kicked off a run, playing the choreographer in the long-running dance show this week.

Speaking after Monday’s first show, he told the New York Post, “I was a little nervous and I had lots more to work through tonight than just my job. Four understudies were in their roles, so that wasn’t as smooth as could be, and then a lady patron in the theatre had a heart attack. I mean, I had all that to deal with.”

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WENN

Mario Lopez has laughed off rumors his girlfriend Karina Smirnoff has been having an affair with her Dancing With The Stars partner Mario.

Former Saved By The Bell actor Lopez reportedly began dating Smirnoff when they starred on the TV talent contest together in 2006. And their relationship has been blighted by rumors that Smirnoff has been having an affair with her current dance partner, R&B singer Mario. But Lopez insists there is nothing going on between the pair – and those kind of rumors are always prevalent during such a high profile program.

He tells Us magazine, “People make up crazy stuff. I thought it was funny. I know the nature of the business and people talk. It’s funny because those rumors always tend come up during the season.”

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WENN