Jenna Johnson Reveals How She Handles Competing Against Husband Val Chmerkovskiy on ‘Dancing With the Stars’

Heavy/Getty/ABC Jenna Johnson amd Val Chmerkovskiy.

Jenna Johnson made a surprising comment about competing against her husband Val Chmerkovskiy  on “Dancing With The Stars.”

The pro dancers started secretly dating in 2015 and wed in 2019, according to People magazine. Over the past nine years, they’ve gone head-to-head in multiple seasons of the ABC celebrity ballroom competition, with both of them taking home mirrorball trophies.

But in a May 2024 interview with Hollywood Life, Johnson admitted she does not look at her husband as her competitor on the show. Instead, she looks at his mirrorball trophy win as a win for her, too.

Jenna Johnson Doesn’t Care How a Mirrorball Trophy Makes it Into Her House

Speaking with Hollywood Life, Johnson, 30, noted that she uses her husband to her advantage on “Dancing With the Stars” because he’s one less opponent in her eyes.  In fact, she looks at Chmerkovskiy as “the opposite” of her competitor on the ABC dance-off. “I use him to my advantage,” Johnson said of her spouse of five years. “I mean, we’re a team. If it’s his win, it’s my win, essentially. You know, the trophy’s coming home to our home. … I love being able to have this partner in crime on the show.“

Johnson also shared that she is her husband’s “biggest cheerleader” and vice versa.

Johnson won “Dancing With the Stars” season 26 with Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon. Chmerkovskiy won season 20 with Rumer Willis, season 23 with Laurie Hernandez, and season 32 with Xochtil Gomez.

While the couple hasn’t shared where they keep their mirrorball trophies,  when Chmerkovskiy won DWTS season 32, Johnson posted a photo of their son Rome posing next to the glitzy prize. “Dad said we’re putting this in my room! – Rome,” the proud wife captioned the spic.

Val Chmerkovskiy Previously Joked About Competing Against Jenna Johnson

GettyJenna Johnson and Val Chmerkovskiy.

The “Dancing With the Stars” couple previously talked about competing against one another. In 2018, Chmerkovskiy told People magazine it would be “fun” to compete against his future wife when she was partnered with “The Bachelorette” alum Joe Amabile. At the time, he was partnered with “Facts of Life” star Nancy McKeon.

“We’re a team in the household, but on the dance floor my responsibility is really to make sure Nancy has an awesome experience, and part of that experience will, at some point, entail beating Joe, and that will be a really difficult moment to come home to,” he cracked. “But it’s gonna be all fun, and it’s really all about our partners. Our personal stuff is secondary.”

While competing on “Dancing With the Stars” season 32 in the fall of 2023, Chmerkovskiy admitted he sometimes vented to his wife about the challenges of the show. At the time, he was partnered with Gomez while Johnson was paired with model Tyson Beckford.

“We support each other, but we kind of vent to one another as well. So, it could be challenging,” he told Us Weekly of the dynamic with Johnson.  “It’s like you are living the stress of two couples because, obviously, we could have a great night and I’ll be very happy, but if she and [Tyson] have a bad night, it’s going to be a tough position to be celebrating in.”

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