Heavy/Getty Peta Murgatroyd and Maks Chmerkovskiy said a sad farewell.
Former “Dancing with the Stars” professional dancer Maksim Chmerkovskiy bid a difficult goodbye to his family and he shared a bit of it on social media.
Chmerkovskiy recently celebrated his 44th birthday and got a bit emotional and reflective when posting about it. He took to his Instagram page on January 17 and shared a family photo as he noted he was “overwhelmingly happy.”
Now, however, the DWTS veteran is going to be away from his wife, “Dancing with the Stars” pro Peta Murgatroyd, and their two sons, for six weeks.
Here’s what you need to know:
Maks Chmerkovskiy Already Misses His Sons
On January 27, Chmerkovskiy posted a photo of his two sons on Instagram. In the caption of his post, he wrote, “Taking off for a while and really miss these two already!!”
The photo showed his two boys, Shai, 7, and Rio, 7 months, in their pajamas. Shai was sitting behind Rio and had his arms wrapped around his little brother’s waist. Rio even appeared to be waving.
Chmerkovskiy jokingly added, “@petamurgatroyd was being her usual Cancer self so you already know it was dramatic.” He admitted, though, “Now I’m sitting on the plane ‘not crying at all.'” He also added a hashtag signaling this was the saddest takeoff to date.
Fans had plenty to say in the comments section of Chmerkovskiy’s post. Many noted they loved the wild swoop of Shai’s hair, and quite a few commented on being a cancer sign like Murgatroyd. A lot of blessings were sent the family’s way as well.
“You both ‘got this’ & your fans always wishing you the very best,” one follower wrote.
“@maksimc have a safe trip. God has blessed you & @petamurgatroyd with 2 handsome Sons,” another fan commented. She continued, “Shai looks just like you & Rio looks just like Peta. I am sure the 2 of you hear that all the time!!! Both are precious.”
Several of Chmerkovskiy’s followers were confused and concerned with the “cancer” reference. He was referring to Murgatroyd’s astrological sign of cancer, but some worried Murgatroyd had been diagnosed with cancer. Luckily, that is not the case.
Peta Murgatroyd Explained Chmerkovskiy’s Absence
Murgatroyd mentioned her husband’s departure in an Instagram Story she posted on January 29. “We said goodbye to Maks. It’s going to be, like, six weeks,” the “Dancing with the Stars” pro revealed.
She continued, “But, I’m going to meet up with him in Arizona for a charity event before that and hopefully, go to see him on set one time in Atlanta.”
While Chmerkovskiy did not explain why he would be away from his family for a while, Murgatroyd did. “They’re filming ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ in Atlanta this time, which is cool, super cool,” she noted.
In December, it was revealed that Chmerkovskiy was going to be a judge on the upcoming season of “So You Think You Can Dance.” On December 4, Variety reported that season 18 of SYTYCD would premiere on March 4.
In addition to adding Chmerkovskiy as a judge, former “Dancing with the Stars” pro Allison Holker will be on the panel too.
Nigel Lythgoe was slated to judge throughout season 18 as well. However, on January 26 the Hollywood Reporter shared that JoJo Siwa would take Lythgoe’s place.
As Murgatroyd explained why Chmerkovskiy would be gone, she noted, “We miss him a lot. But it’s such an amazing opportunity and he’s having a blast so far. He’s really loving it.”