Maks Chmerkovskiy Says He & Peta Murgatroyd Thought They ‘Lost Rio’

Maks Chmerkovskiy and Peta Murgatroyd.

Getty Images Maks Chmerkovskiy says that he and Peta Murgatroyd thought they "lost Rio" during her pregnancy.

In a candid interview with Cheryl Burke on her new podcast, “Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans,” former “Dancing With the Stars” pro Maksim Chmerkovskiy shared that he and his wife, Peta Murgatroyd, thought they had miscarried their son, Rio, at a point during Mugatroyd’s pregnancy.

“I saw Peta go through some crazy stuff. We had couple of nights that were just wildly depressing and then turned into not. And then, we thought we lost Rio along the way,” Chmerkovskiy said on the September 25, 2023, episode of Burke’s podcast.

Chmerkovskiy didn’t get into too many details, though he did say that Murgatroyd experienced the “exact same” symptoms as the three previous miscarriages that she suffered.

Chmerkovskiy and Murgatroyd have a son named Shai who is 6-years-old.

Here’s what you need to know:


Maks Chmerkovskiy Shared Some Heartfelt Thoughts About Welcoming Baby Rio Into the Chmerkovskiy Family

Murgatroyd announced her pregnancy in January 2023. “It brings me immense joy to finally announce that @maksimc and I are expecting our Chmerkovskiy #2,” she captioned an Instagram post debuting her baby bump.

Rio John was born on June 18, 2023.

“We are overjoyed to share our baby boy with all of you. @shai.aleksander is already the best big brother and we all feel very complete. Life is good,” Chmerkovskiy and Murgatroyd captioned a joint Instagram post, officially announcing the birth of their second son.

In an exclusive interview with Heavy, Chmerkovskiy shared some insight into the special moments that he and Murgatroyd experienced when they got to bring their baby home.

“I think the difficulty in getting here. You know, just publicly documented that we had with all the miscarriages and stuff. So, that, in itself. Bringing him home was the moment,” Chmerkovskiy responded.

“Being on this side of the rainbow, it was amazing. And bringing him home was like a moment. ‘Damn. This is really happened,'” he continued, saying that “every moment since has been a beautiful moment and we can’t be luckier.”


Peta Murgatroyd & Maks Chmerkovskiy Have Shared Details of Their Infertility Struggles

Before welcoming baby Rio into their lives in June 2023, Murgatroyd and Chmerkovskiy revealed that they had been struggling to conceive a second child.

“I was sitting in the bathroom sobbing. I’m surprised nobody walked in because I was crying so heavily and wailing, one of those deep cries. That was something that will probably live with me for the rest of my life, being on that toilet by myself, knowing what was happening and not being able to stop it,” Murgatroyd previously told People magazine.

Then, Chmerkovskiy shared a bit about how the who experience changed him.

“It makes you feel helpless. And for a dude like me, like all my priorities have completely shifted,” Chmerkovskiy told People magazine of going through that time with his wife.

“I think the darkest part is when the person you are in love with calls you and she says that she had a miscarriage in the bathroom, that’s as dark as it can get,” he added.

READ NEXT: DWTS Alum Says Show Is ‘Rigged’