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“Dancing with the Stars” professional dancers Jenna Johnson and her husband, Val Chmerkovskiy, are currently traveling with their colleagues for the DWTS tour. While in New York City, they stopped by to chat with one of his former partners, Sherri Shepherd.
The trio had a blast and dished out some fun details, including a mention of Shepherd’s former crush on Chmerkovskiy.
Here’s what you need to know:
Val Chmerkovskiy Was Hard on Sherri Shepherd During Their Partnership
Johnson and Chmerkovskiy joined Sherri Shepherd for the January 16 episode of her daytime talk show. Shepherd and Chmerkovskiy were partners for season 14 of “Dancing with the Stars.” The duo did not win the Mirrorball trophy, but they did seem to walk away from the experience with a fun friendship.
As they reminisced, Shepherd asked Chmerkovskiy if he remembered the nickname he had for her. He did, and he explained that in his family, they often add a “ska” to the end of someone’s name as a term of endearment. So, he often called her “Sherriska.”
Shepherd recalled, “You were so hard on me, like, you were so sweet, but that was so hard to be like 24123412345678 and I would be crying. She added that during the tough times, Chmerkovskiy would use that nickname and “that would make me feel so much better.”
Chmerkovskiy noted that they competed together more than a decade ago and he “was trying to prove myself on the show.” His run with Shepherd on “Dancing with the Stars” was only his second season as a pro.
He explained, “I didn’t think they were gonna hire me back, so I was like, Sherriska, get your…” Shepherd interjected and added, “And you did it and we had a good time.
Shepherd then admitted, “Jenna, you know this girl, you know, I had a massive crush on Val.”
Luckily, Johnson wasn’t at all taken aback by Shepherd’s admission of having had a crush on Chmerkovskiy. She replied, “Who doesn’t?”
The two ladies then made Chmerkovskiy blush a bit. Shepherd noted, “For me, Val never had a shirt on. Like, walking around the house, is he walking around with no shirt on?”
Johnson replied, “I mean, we’re lucky if he has pants on that day. But honestly, if you look that gorgeous under there, why not show it off?”
Jenna Johnson Shared Chmerkovskiy’s 1st Attempt to Woo Her
During their appearance on Shepherd’s show, Johnson also shared her version of how Chmerkovskiy first made his move on her. She admitted that her version of the story differs a bit from his.
Johnson shared, “I was 19 years old, I had just competed on ‘So You Think You Can Dance?’ and I got hired for ‘Dancing with the Stars.’ And this was, like, my dream gig.”
She added, “So I’m the only new person that season, everybody else kind of knew each other, you know, had relationships already. I was in my first day and I am like, shaking in my boots.”
Chmerkovskiy and Johnson were “randomly” partnered with one another for a group dance on her first day. Johnson recalled, “I’m trying to be so professional and he’s just like in my ear the whole time.”
The “Dancing with the Stars” veteran was in Johnson’s ear whispering “in his little accent, it was like, a bit more Brooklyn back then. ‘You know, you could bottle my sweat, it smells so good.'”
Chmerkovskiy immediately interjected at that point and claimed he never said that to Johnson. He then joked, “I had an entrepreneurial spirit… First of all, she’s leaving out the part where she commented on how sweaty I was in the first place. And then, like, you’re welcome.”
Johnson joked, “I mean, it worked.” The couple recently celebrated their fifth wedding anniversary. They also just celebrated the first birthday of their son, Rome.
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