DWTS Alums Maksim Chmerkovskiy And Peta Murgatroyd Get Candid About Fertility Struggles

Former "Dancing with the Stars" pro dancers Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Peta Murgatroyd have gotten very candid about their fertility struggles as they try to expand their family. The two are proud parents to an adorable son, Shai, who was born in 2017, and have always shared their hopes to give him a sibling. Back in October 2020, following her elimination from Season 29 of "DWTS" with Vernon Davis, Murgatroyd admitted she was ready to become a mom for the second time. "Yes to baby No. 2. For sure. I'm ready!," she told Us Weekly at the time.

That came after Murgatroyd told Us Weekly three months earlier in July 2020 that she didn't think it would be long at all until Shai became a big brother. "We definitely want to have a baby and it will be very, very soon. [Shai's] getting older, and I want him to grow up within his childhood with other siblings," she explained.

But, sadly, it seems things have been a lot more difficult than Chmerkovskiy and Murgatroyd imagined the first time around. Almost two years after admitting they were hoping to expand their family in the very immediate future, the couple opened up about experiencing pregnancy loss and what's next for them as parents.

Peta Murgatroyd explained to People that she experienced a miscarriage while her husband Maksim Chmerkovskiy was stuck in Ukraine due to the country's war with Russia. The two did not know Murgatroyd was pregnant, and she explained complications from COVID-19 may have contributed to her pregnancy loss. "I felt like I was dying, but then I obviously knew what had happened. It was just all too much for my body and I couldn't do it. I couldn't believe that this was happening to me," Murgatroyd shared. Sadly, that wasn't the only time the couple had experienced the tragedy. Murgatroyd explained they'd been through the ordeal twice before, with one pregnancy loss taking place in 2020. "With the trauma, I took a very long time to get over it. It was months and months of crying most nights in bed by myself, crying in the shower, it was a lot of denial," Murgatroyd admitted.

The two spoke openly on "Good Morning America" about their experience, where Murgatroyd admitted, "I definitely wanted to keep my miscarrages a deep, dark secret." The star shared she'd been diagnosed with Polycystic ovary syndrome and confirmed she and Chmerkovskiy are looking into IVF, adding, "I'm in a much happier place."

Chmerkovskiy previously shared his desire to welcome a baby girl, telling Entertainment Tonight in February 2020, "I want a girl more than anything and if it's going to be another boy, it's going to be incredible."