Peta Murgatroyd and Maksim Chmerkovskiy are overjoyed as they welcome their third child, marking a new chapter in their lives. The Dancing with the Stars alums recently celebrated their last Mother’s Day as a family of four, sharing a series of heartwarming photos on Instagram. The images featured Murgatroyd, 37, and Chmerkovskiy, 44, with their sons Rio John, 9 months, and Shai Aleksander, 7, enjoying a scenic walk down a wooded trail. Murgatroyd looked stunning in a long, white dress with a turtleneck and white boots, while Chmerkovskiy sported a white shirt and gray plaid pants. Their sons were dressed in neutral earth tones, perfectly complementing their parents’ outfits.
“Being a mother is my greatest joy. Happy Mother’s Day 💐,” Murgatroyd captioned the post, capturing the essence of her happiness.
The couple, who first met while performing in Burn the Floor on Broadway in 2009 and later married in July 2017, have been eagerly preparing for the arrival of their third child. In March, they revealed they were expecting another boy. A video posted on Instagram on March 21 showed their son Shai sitting behind a white cake decorated with question marks and an edible sign that read, “We’re here for the sex!” The video also featured Murgatroyd’s baby bump and the couple’s parents, culminating in a backyard celebration with confetti poppers revealing the baby’s gender.
“I CANNOT BELIEVE WE WILL HAVE 3 BOYS!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 Maks and I are beyond happy to have another buddy for Shai and Rio…we want them to be the best of friends and thinking about family dinners already makes us laugh! Not to mention when Rio turns 1, I will give birth to this bundle of joy a couple of weeks later 💃🏼💃🏼💃🏼,” Murgatroyd wrote in the caption.
Just a month after announcing her pregnancy, Chmerkovskiy shared on The Jennifer Hudson Show that the news came as a surprise. “I mean, we have a 7-year-old, we have an 8-month-old and Peta’s 5 months pregnant,” he told Hudson in March. “So yeah, it was a surprise.” Hudson’s reaction was one of amazement, to which Chmerkovskiy responded, “Yeah, and that’s the reaction I get 100% of the time. They’re like, ‘Oh wow.’ Like, yes.”
Chmerkovskiy also humorously mentioned that they would soon be in desperate need of a babysitter, saying, “I think at some point, when it’s 3 [kids], you’re like, ‘Can anybody come help babysit?'”
The couple’s excitement was palpable as they shared another video on Instagram revealing the sex of their third child. The video included blue balloons, confetti cannons, and a cake with blue candy, confirming they were expecting another boy. “It’s a ……..BOY!” Murgatroyd wrote in the caption. “I’ve been quietly preparing myself to be a real-life wolf pack Mumma with our THIRD baby boy on the way 🙏🤣💙”
Murgatroyd continued, “I CANNOT BELIEVE WE WILL HAVE 3 BOYS!! Maks and I are beyond happy to have another buddy for Shai and Rio…we want them to be the best of friends and thinking about family dinners already makes us laugh!” She also asked her followers for name suggestions with “3,4,5 letters.”
In February, the couple announced they were expecting another baby, less than eight months after the birth of Rio John Chmerkovskiy in June 2023 through in vitro fertilization. The couple, who also have a son named Shai Chmerkovskiy, born in January 2017, had previously opened up about their struggles with miscarriages and IVF. In their February Instagram post, Murgatroyd expressed their gratitude, saying they were “beyond blessed and know we are uber lucky for this miracle to happen to us.”
Murgatroyd also shared a glimpse into their Easter celebrations, posting a slideshow of images on Instagram. The photos included a family picture with Murgatroyd, Chmerkovskiy, Shai, and Rio, as well as a selfie of the family ready to make Easter egg cookies. Another picture showed Rio crying in the arms of the Easter Bunny, with Murgatroyd reaching out to comfort him.
On July 12, the couple confirmed the birth of their third son. “He is officially evicted from his mom and he is sooooo cute!!!!,” they shared on Instagram. “Birth details later but for now we wanted to let you all know that mom and baby are doing perfect, and delivery took around 47 seconds total! Exactly one push! Also thank you all for the beautiful messages we have been receiving. Means a lot and very much appreciated.”
Just hours before the birth, Chmerkovskiy attended the 2024 ESPY Awards, where he mentioned he was “on call.” He explained that if Murgatroyd called him twice in a row, he would leave the ceremony and call her from the car, as it meant she was in labor. Early Friday, the couple posted a photo from the hospital, confirming their baby was on the way. “Here we go again….again! Wish us luck 🤞🏼,” the photo was captioned. “#number3cominginhot #madeinPeta.”
Reflecting on their journey, Chmerkovskiy acknowledged his family as a significant accomplishment. “You transition and you change as a person, and when that change happens, you get upset and depressed about missing things in life. And for me, I think… there are some things that you have to go through to feel accomplished,” he explained. “For me, it’s not the Dancing With the Stars trophies. It’s not dance trophies in general. It’s the fact that I got a wife and kids and a house and I have a puppy that I miss, you know, and the time that we get to spend together is my time, period.”
As he told ET on the red carpet, “I had a period of time when I was young and single. Now I have a period of time when it’s Peta and I just multiplying. Peta and I never really had our own time, you know. We kind of ran right at it, but we’re not upset. Our life is incredible and we feel like this is now the work.”
Source: PEOPLE, ET
