Heavy/Getty BC Jean and Mark Ballas talk about pregnancy.
Retired “Dancing with the Stars” professional dancer Mark Ballas, and his wife BC Jean Ballas, are about to become parents for the first time. They have been open over the past few months about the challenges they navigated in the process of welcoming their first child. Recently, they shared some additional tidbits.
Here’s what you need to know:
The Couple Lost Their 1st Pregnancy Just Before Getting to Hear the Heartbeat for the 1st Time
The “Dancing with the Stars” alum and his wife joined Shawn Johnson and her husband, Andrew East, for the November 15 episode of their podcast “Couple Things.”
As the Olympic champion gymnast noted, she has known Mark since she was a teenager. She partnered with him during season 8 of “Dancing with the Stars,” which was one of his early seasons. The two couples have been very close friends for many years.
The podcast was recorded shortly before Mark and BC welcomed their first child, which was set to happen any minute. As they talked about their excitement about becoming parents, they also reflected on the difficulties they endured to get to this point.
BC shared that this pregnancy wasn’t planned, although they knew they wanted to have a baby. She also shared, “We got pregnant last year, around summertime.” They learned of the pregnancy shortly before Mark returned to “Dancing with the Stars” to partner with Charli D’Amelio.
“We were really excited,” BC added, noting that pregnancy had not been planned either. They decided it must have been meant to be. Sadly, their experience changed drastically when she was 10 weeks pregnant.
“We found out that we didn’t have a heartbeat,” she explained. In fact, the couple learned of their loss the week they were supposed to hear the baby’s heartbeat for the first time.
BC recalled the feeling she had that something was wrong. “I had a weird woman’s intuition right before we went in” to have that particular appointment. She recalled looking at Mark and saying, “Hey, just remember, everything happens for a reason.”
Mark started filming their appointment, excitedly anticipating hearing their baby’s heartbeat. BC said she looked at him and motioned for him to stop filming. “I just knew,” she said, of the bad news about to emerge.
Mark & BC Were There for One Another
Mark continued competing on “Dancing with the Stars,” feeling that the “show must go on.” However, privately, the musicians were very much there for one another. It was a bonding experience, they acknowledged, and it prompted them to slowly create a song based on their grief.
The duo recently released the song, which they originally thought they might keep just for themselves. It was cathartic to create it, they said, and they titled the song “Rainbow.”
Mark noted their close friends and family members, which included Johnson and East, “really showed up for us” during that tough time. They had not told very many people about the situation at the time.
BC shared that after the loss, she and her husband grieved quite differently. “I was there, like, let’s just turn this off, I don’t want to feel pain,” she noted. She would joke around and keep her grief very much to herself.
Mark is more of a “heart on your sleeve kind of person,” Jean indicated. Luckily, they explained, BC and Mark recognized they handle things differently from one another. They remained focused on very much being there for one another.
He also shared of his wife, “Seeing how strong you were through the process, I think, was quite amazing for me to witness… just her strength and perseverance…”
“It was an interesting time,” Mark recalled. He actually was scheduled to go to “Dancing with the Stars” rehearsals the day they lost their baby. However, he felt it would be best to stay home. BC urged him to go, though. She recalled telling him, “We’ll have time to grieve, we’ll have time to be together and go through this for the rest of our lives.”
BC and Mark got through that difficult time, and she reflected, “See, everything does happen for a reason and that’s the only way that we can look at it.”