Out on the town! Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Peta Murgatroyd enjoyed lunch in Beverly Hills before preparing to quarantine separately during season 29 of Dancing With the Stars.
Chmerkovskiy, 40, and his wife, 34, put their PDA on full display on Monday, August 24, while taking advantage of outdoor dining in California amid the coronavirus pandemic. Both dancers dressed casually in white tops and dark pants as they cozied up at their table.
The couple, who tied the knot in 2017, stepped out less than a week after the professional cast for the upcoming season of ABC’s popular dance competition was officially confirmed. While Murgatroyd is set to head back to the ballroom in the fall, her husband was not one of the 15 dancers announced to perform this season. The Burn the Floor star last competed on season 25 of DWTS, finishing in seventh place with partner Vanessa Lachey.
“I think I’m just going to be the sideline mascot bringing babies to see their parents do their thing,” he told Us Weekly exclusively in March, two years after his exit from the show. “I’ll be that person.”
Following the network’s cast reveal, pros Emma Slater and husband Sasha Farber told Entertainment Tonight that the show is going the extra mile to make sure all of their competitors are safe amid the global health crisis — even those who are married.
“It’s so funny, when our amazing producers told us, ‘OK, so we have some news for you, you’re going to have to be quarantined separately,’ I laughed,” Slater, 31, said on August 18. “I was nervous, so I just started laughing.”
Despite having been quarantined together for months throughout the pandemic, the pair agreed to the serious safety precaution. Fellow married pros Jenna Johnson and Val Chmerkovskiy and Daniella Karagach and Pasha Pashkov will also be separated due to the rule.
“It’s really important to do these things and it’s great that producers thought of this,” Farber, 36, explained. “There’s lots of things happening — masks, social distancing — and this is one way of making sure that everyone’s safe, strong and the show goes on. Because we need this show!”
On Monday, Us confirmed that Backstreet Boys’ AJ McLean would be joining Kaitlyn Bristowe as two of season 29’s celebrity contestants. While other celebrity partners for this season have yet to be announced, the show is set to premiere on ABC on Monday, September 14.
Scroll down to see more of Chmerkovskiy and Murgatroyd’s sunny lunch date.
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