Getty Images Peta Murgatroyd experienced a heartbreaking moment after her baby was born.
Shortly after “Dancing With the Stars” pro Peta Murgatroyd gave birth to her son Rio, she turned to her mom to ask if she had texted her dad to let him know the good news. However, Murgatroyd’s father, Derek, died in December 2022.
“There was a moment after the birth where I looked at my mum and said ‘did you text dad?’ …I welled up with tears as I realized I’d forgotten he was gone. It was a moment for me. I knew I felt his spirit there and I know he will be looking down and protecting all of us here,” Murgatroyd wrote in an Instagram post on June 26, 2023.
Murgatroyd’s father had been diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis in May 2022, according to the dancer’s Instagram Stories.
Here’s what you need to know:
Peta Murgatroyd & Maks Chmerkovskiy’s Son Has the Same Middle Name as Derek Murgatroyd
In honor of her late father, Murgatroyd wanted to do something to keep his memory alive and to honor him. In an interview with People magazine following her son’s birth, Murgatroyd shared the meaning behind her newborn’s name, Rio John.
“We loved Rio, which we came upon at the last minute. It’s a perfect complement to our long surname! We also wanted something easy to say with Shai,” she told the outlet, adding that Rio’s middle name is also her father’s middle name.
Murgatroyd was very close to her father and traveled to Australia to see him before he died.
“My dad was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis. And there’s no cure for it. It’s like, your lungs become scarred and the scarring just, kind of, continues. Elevates. Gets larger. And, eventually, the whole lungs will be scarred,” she said on her Instagram Stories just weeks before her dad died.
Peta Murgatroyd Penned a Tribute to Her Dad on Social Media Following His Death
After her father died, Murgatroyd shared a tribute to him on her Instagram feed.
“This is the end of our ride earth side. Oh how I wish we could take this boat trip again. In the next life we will. This glance to each other was perfectly captured, you were so content, at sea where you were always meant to be. I know though that you will continue to ride with me until I see you again. I hope I made you proud these 36 years. You were my everything and I will miss you until my days here are done. I will hold the warmth of your hand in my heart forever,” she wrote.
Less than one month later, Murgatroyd revealed that she was pregnant with her second child.
“It brings me immense joy to finally announce that @maksimc and I are expecting our Chmerkovskiy #2,” she captioned a post, showing off her growing baby bump.
Baby Rio was born on Father’s Day.
“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 XO,” Murgatroyd and her husband Maksim Chmerkovskiy captioned a joint Instagram post.
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