Valentin “Val” Chmerkovskiy and Jenna Johnson are speaking out for the first time about the challenges they faced in their desire to grow their family.
In an interview on Thursday’s episode of “Good Morning America,” the “Dancing with the Stars” pros revealed they suffered a miscarriage in 2021 before the birth of their first child, son Rome, in January.
The two detailed the heartbreaking loss, while also discussing their lives as new parents to their rainbow baby.
“We were in Dallas for a show, and while we were practicing, we did something, and I just turned to him. I’m like, ‘Oh, I’m — I think I’m bleeding,'” Johnson explained. “And immediately my heart just dropped. I could see in his face just went like, white.”
“I sprinted to our hotel room, and I lost the baby in our hotel room,” she added.
The professional dancer said “no one knew” that they were expecting at the time — or had lost their baby.
“We were so excited,” she recalled, admitting that she “didn’t want to dance for awhile” because she was “so angry.” However, Jenna said dance ultimately became an “escape” for her during the difficult time.
“I was so, so sad,” she said, getting emotional. “I was hurting so much.”
In July, Johnson, 28, and Chmerkovskiy, 37, revealed they were expecting their first child.
Six months later, Val and Jenna welcomed their baby boy, sharing the exciting news to their Instagram pages.
“Our world is forever changed,” Johnson captioned the image alongside their new son’s birth date of January 10.
One month later, the two shared the first photo of their beautiful bundle of joy, and revealed their baby’s name.
“Rome Valentin Chmerkovskiy ✨,” Jenna captioned a photo of their son. “Cannot believe it’s been 4 weeks of being completely infatuated with you. Thank you for bursting my heart wide open and showing me what unconditional love is. Mommy and Daddy love you so much!!!”
During their appearance on “GMA,” the couple — who have been married since 2019 — opened up about their experience as parents — so far.
“He was my biggest support system while I was pregnant,” Jenna said of her husband. “So tender and sweet. Those exhausting, tired moments when you’re up at 4:00 a.m. together, and you’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s my teammate, and he’s willing to do this with me.'”
Val praised his wife, saying, The rush of love, I think, definitely flooded me more in regards to my wife,” he said. “I’ve never loved her more, I’ve never appreciated her more.”
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