Jenna Johnson Admits to Feeling Selfish, Guilty, & Torn in Seeking Balance

Heavy/ABC Jenna Johnson opens up about being a dancer and a mom.

A long-time “Dancing with the Stars” professional dancer recently opened up about the challenges of being a mom alongside the work she loves. Jenna Johnson has been a part of the DWTS Tour for the first handful of dates. Her husband, fellow pro Val Chmerkovskiy, has been performing in the shows as well. The couple has been able to bring their 1-year-old son, Rome, with them, a first for the tour.

The family has loved their experience doing the tour. In a recent social media post, Johnson was reflective and honest about the challenges they have also encountered.

Here’s what you need to know:

Jenna Johnson Admits She Needed the DWTS Tour Experience

On January 28, Johnson posted a photo from the tour on her Instagram page. She also included a lengthy caption where she shared some vulnerability in the challenges she has experienced in being both a mother and dancer.

As Johnson noted at the time she wrote the post, she only had a handful of tour dates left before heading back home. The tour continues into the spring, but Johnson and Chmerkovskiy only committed to performing in the first part of the schedule.

The “Dancing with the Stars” pro noted the tour has been “incredible” for her. “Selfishly as a performer I’ve needed this past month [and] a half more than I can express,” Johnson admitted.

She continued, “Since becoming a mother (truly the greatest role I’ve ever dreamed of) I’ve felt like I lost my identity as an artist.” Johnson admitted she’s “felt guilty and torn between being the best mom possible and feeling fulfilled as a performer.”

Johnson also revealed, “I didn’t think I was allowed to have both… until this experience rehearsing for and now dancing on tour.”

It hasn’t been easy, though. Johnson admitted she’s “never been more exhausted waking up at 7am with Rome on the bus, being mommy until I need to start getting ready, finishing the show at 10:30pm, and going to bed on average around 1:30am/2am every night.”

As exhausting as the experience has been, the “Dancing with the Stars” dancer admitted, “It’s brought me an insane amount of happiness that gets me choked up if I think about it long enough.” Doing the tour, with Chmerkovskiy and Rome there with her, taught her she “can do it all.”

Johnson encouraged other mothers not to let go of their dreams. She noted there was a lot of hard work and loss of sleep required, at times, but added, “Showing up for your BABY and YOURSELF is the most rewarding feeling.”

Fans Gushed Over Johnson’s Post & Performances

Johnson also revealed that doing the tour has allowed her to fall “in love with dance even more than I thought was possible.” She thanked fans for “making my heart so happy.”

The “Dancing with the Stars” dancer received a lot of love on her Instagram post. Her brother-in-law, former pro Maks Chmerkovskiy, commented with a string of heart and fire emoji. Former contestant Chrishell Stause also commented with a handful of fire emoji.

“Seeing you perform was one of the absolute highlights of this tour. You are dancing better than ever and Rome is thriving,” a fan shared. The commenter continued, “You are absolutely crushing this phase of your life and I’m so glad I got to see it.”

“Please never stop touring. You are so insanely captivating to watch. On TV is one thing but live….. you are just magic,” wrote another supporter.

“Jenna you do the best at both worlds…so proud of you,” gushed another fan.

“I appreciate your candidness in your posts of being mom and a career person,” added someone else.