Dancing with the Stars pros Jenna Johnson and Val Chmerkovskiy were recently guests on the podcast The Squeeze, hosted by actor Taylor Lautner and his wife Taylor. The couple opened up about their struggle to get pregnant, including the miscarriage Johnson sufferedbefore they welcomed their son Rome.
Jenna Johnson, Val Chmerkovskiy Open Up About Miscarriage
Johnson and Chmerkovskiy said that when they first started trying to get pregnant, they expected it to happen right away. Johnson said that it added “a level of pressure and stress and sadness” to see friends having babies while they were struggling to conceive.
Eventually, Johnson got pregnant, but she ended up miscarrying. The dancer admitted, “I had never really heard that word. It’s such a taboo, scary word that I never just heard thrown out casually.”
Chmerkovskiy described the “high to low emotional roller coaster” they experienced. He said Johnson was “glowing” when she got pregnant, adding that “her whole aura started to change immediately.” Johnson recalled feeling “so helpless” after her miscarriage.
She explained that she wanted to keep trying to get pregnant right away, which she said “made me spiral” and left her “super, super depressed.” Chmerkovskiy suggested that they should take a break from trying to conceive.
Johnson and Chmerkovskiy ended up taking a break to “enjoy each other and reconnect.” About six months later, Johnson got pregnant with their son Rome. She explained that it happened while they were on vacation in Cabo for her birthday.
“And they always say when you’re least expecting it, and when you’re not thinking about it, it just happens,” Johnson said. “And I got pregnant on my birthday. It was great, but the struggle to get there was exhausting. It was rough.”
Chmerkovskiy said he spoke to some of his friends during their fertility journey and learned that they too had struggled to have children. Johnson said they discovered that “it’s such a common thing, and no one really talks about it.” That made her “feel way more seen and understood.”
Words by:
Jill O'Rourke Jill O’Rourke is a contributor at Talent Recap, writing news stories and recaps for shows like ‘AGT,’ ‘The Voice,’ and ‘American Idol.’ She graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in English and Film Studies, and has been writing about pop culture since 2012, with previous bylines at Crushable and A Plus. Jill spends her free time binge-watching sitcoms and daydreaming about life as a hobbit
