September 14, 2009

Dancing With the Stars pro Maksim Chmerkovskiy is still nursing a broken heart but is "doing okay" after his split with fellow dancer Karina Smirnoff, DWTS pal Mark Ballas tells PEOPLE

"He's doing okay but he's not happy," says Ballas, who spoke to Chmerkovskiy Wednesday night for several hours. "I know he loved Karina. He loved her very much."

Ballas says he doesn't know why his fellow dancers split but was "shell-shocked" when he learned the news. "I don't really know who made the decision but obviously he's upset," Ballas tells PEOPLE.