Getty Images The Chmerkovskiy family before Rio's birth.
It was an incredibly special day in the Chmerkovskiy household when “Dancing With the Stars” pro Peta Murgatroyd and her husband, Maksim Chmerkovskiy, got to introduce their newborn son, Rio, to their 6-year-old son, Shai.
On June 29, 2023, a video of the new Chmerkovskiy brothers meeting for the first time was shared on their respective Instagram accounts — run by Mom and Dad. In the video, Shai can’t wait to give his new baby brother some pictures he made for him. Then, he sits up on the couch and gets to hold his new “best friend.”
Here’s what you need to know:
Fans Loved Seeing the 2 Brothers Together for the First Time
In an interview with Heavy in April 2023, Chmerkovskiy expressed excitement over Shai meeting his sibling. “Peta and I also can’t wait to see Shai as an older brother! We are looking forward to it all! Diapers, nightshifts, bath time, baby pukes even. We have missed it all and we have an amazing opportunity to enjoy it all over again. We can’t wait,” he said.
And fans are loving the video of the brothers together for the first time.
“Oh Shai congratulations on becoming a big brother!!! You’re already doing a amazing job,” one person wrote.
“Shai is precious big brother. He loves Rio. So cute!!!” someone else added.
“You do know that Rio is no longer yours. He now belongs to Shai! They’re precious,” a third Instagram user joked.
“What a great bro Shai is asking if Rio likes his present… so cute. And YES you will be best friends (most of the time) like your daddy and his brother. A beautiful family. Enjoy it all,” a fourth comment read.
Maksim Chmerkovskiy Shared a Photo With His Sons
Baby Rio was born on June 18, 2023. Four days later, Chmerkovskiy shared a photo of himself with his two sons.
“New favorite pic of all time!” he captioned the snap. The photo captured a very special moment between the three, as Chmerkovskiy smiled proudly at the camera while cradling his newborn and Shai looked on with an elated expression.
And Shai has been so excited to become a big brother.
“He knew the story kept being that mommy has an egg, and then the egg broke. So finally at this point, to tell him this egg didn’t break, it’s a very big moment for him and for us, seeing that baby come. Now there’s kicking, the stomach is moving. Watching my 6-year-old taking in that moment is also very special,” Chmerkovskiy told People magazine in May 2023.
In an interview with The Sun, Murgatroyd revealed that Shai had been wanting a sibling for a long time.
“He’s been wanting this for so long and also along the road of the struggles, you know, in the past two years, he has heard me say to him before, ‘Mommy’s pregnant,’ and then I’m not,” she explained.
“He is asking every day when it’s gonna pop out of my belly button. You know, he’s just the cutest,” she told the outlet. Now, they are a family of four and Shai is already being a great big brother.
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