Jenna Johnson has learned firsthand how difficult it can be balancing motherhood with her Dancing With the Stars career.
“Been working some really long hours this week leading up to our exciting two-night premiere and my mama heart has been a little heartbroken having to be away from my sweet boy,” Johnson, 32, wrote via Instagram on Sunday, September 13, referring to her 3-year-old son, Rome. “Grateful he was able to come to set yesterday and see all the magic happening!”
She continued, “I think I needed it more than he did.”
The two-time DWTS champ shares Rome with her husband, Val Chmerkovskiy, who is also a pro dancer on the hit ballroom competition series. (Johnson has paired up with Glee alum Harry Shum Jr., while Chmerkovskiy, 40, is set to tango with Step Up actress Jenna Dewan for season 35.)
Johnson, Chmerkovskiy and their respective celebrity partners had camera-blocking rehearsal on Saturday, September 12. For Johnson, it was a reminder that moms truly can do it all — even when it requires navigating feelings of heartbreak.
“Working mamas, I see you! We got this,” she added in her social media upload. “And to my mamas on set … grateful for your beautiful examples! Love being able to navigate this together ✨.”
Fellow DWTS pros Daniella Karagach, Witney Carson and Sharna Burgess are also moms. Karagach, 33, and dancer husband Pasha Pashkov are parents of daughter Nikita, 3, while Burgess, 41, shares son Zane, 4, with fiancé Brian Austin Green. Carson, 32, is a mom of two with another on the way. (The pregnant choreographer and her husband, Carson McAllister, already share two sons.)
“You guys are so inspiring!!!” pro Brandon Armstrong’s wife, Brylee Armstrong, replied in the comments section.
Karagach and Burgess will cha cha for the mirrorball with respective partners Ezra Frech and Tyler Cameron, while Carson joined forces with Guillermo Rodriguez.
“It’s honestly been OK,” Carson exclusively told Us earlier this month about working on DWTS amid her pregnancy. “I feel like I’ve had a lot more energy than I did in my first trimester. The nausea is starting to subside and I’m starting to have a little bit more energy.”
She continued, “I was telling Guillermo I feel exactly the same physically, I’m just more out of breath, but … I don’t feel like I’m pregnant at all, honestly. I feel like I can do all the same things, which is such a blessing. I know that it will start to get a little bit harder once I get a little bit bigger.”
Dancing With the Stars season 35 kicks off with a two-night premiere on ABC and Disney+ Tuesday, September 15, and Wednesday, September 16, at 8 p.m. ET.
