Claire Lejune
Jenna Johnson and Val Chmerkovskiy are going to be parents!
The Dancing with the Stars couple, who tied the knot in 2019, are expecting their first baby — and PEOPLE has all the special details of how and when the duo found out, the crazy cravings Johnson has been experiencing, and what their journey to parenthood has been like thus far.
“We got home [from a trip to Cabo] and about two weeks later I was like, ‘Wait a minute, my boobs are feeling very big and very sore. I haven’t started my period yet.’ So I peed on a stick and immediately it just turned positive,” Johnson, 28, recalled. “The shock and just disbelief was insane. I couldn’t believe it because it it wasn’t an easy journey for us to get pregnant.”
“But everybody tells you, ‘When you just relax and you don’t put the stress on yourself, it happens for you.’ That’s exactly what happened,” she added. “I think it was exactly when it was meant to be. Our little baby was created with a lot of love. It all seems so magical and meant to be.”
Claire Lejune
Thrilled to spill the beans, Johnson wanted to make sure she shared the news with Chmerkovskiy, 36, in the most memorable way.
“I went and I got these little Baby Jordans, these white sneakers,” she said. “I put them in a box that was his size of Nikes. So he didn’t expect anything. Then I put two little pregnancy tests in there. I had been shaking at home waiting for him to come home. So he nonchalantly walked in and he, ironically enough, had a bag of Nikes. I was like, ‘Did you go shopping today?’ He was like, ‘Yeah, I got myself some new sneakers.’ I’m like, ‘No way. I got some too today.'”
“He came over and chucked off the lid of the box and started rummaging through it,” she added. “He looked at the shoes and was like, ‘How small are these sneakers?’ Then it hit him and his face … it was priceless.”
Just shy of her second trimester, Johnson says her first trimester has been quite the journey — but she has been doing everything in her power to stay mindful and positive.
“The first trimester is a scary time and there’s so many things that can go wrong, potentially,” she said. “I just have taken this time to really relax and try to stay calm and keep my body healthy. Which has been hard, because I’m a really active person. I love to work out. I love to dance. But I’ve just made it a priority for myself to really make a shift and to prioritize the baby and what was happening and all of these new changes.”
“One of the best things for me was finding peace and not having to feel like I needed to be so busy and insanely active,” she continued. “I think I’m just giving my body the necessary rest. I think that’s the best thing I can do for myself. It’s also just taught me that I can be okay with downtime. I don’t need to overwork myself.”
As far as the physical transformations and changes she continues to go through, Johnson — who is due in January 2023 — is fully embracing every moment.
RELATED: All of the Dreamy Photos from Val Chmerkovskiy and Jenna Johnson’s Wedding
Claire Lejune
“Every day when I look in the mirror and I get bigger and bigger, it just hits me what’s happening,” said Johnson — who enjoyed her first maternity photoshoot earlier this week, shot by Claire Lejune and glammed by Emma Willis and Rachel Harper. “I just think I try to find ways to be super grateful and find moments of gratitude. I started a little gratitude journal. Just every day I write what’s happening in my body. What I’ve liked. What I don’t like. But just how magical the experience is. So I think trying to keep my mind in that mindset has been really helpful for me.”
“Val is just so funny in this whole experience,” she added. “He is obsessed with my body growing. He’s just obsessed with everything. The boobs, the butt, the belly. So for him to be so sweet and positive about my body, has just made me feel so beautiful.”
And Johnson’s cravings? Fresh fruit … and pickles, please!
“I’ve been eating it in abundance,” she said. “Watermelon. Mangoes. Papaya. Pineapple. I could probably pound hundreds of them in one sitting. As well, smoothies. Cold smoothies always sounded good. Now, I would say my cravings are pickles. Seriously, I could crack open a jar of pickles at any time of the day and be so stoked.”
While the duo continues to prepare for parenthood, Johnson said she’s most looking forward to watching the love of her life become a dad.
Claire Lejune
“If he is anything like he is as a husband, he’s going to be the best dad in the world,” she said. “He is so selfless and loving. Between the two of us, is by far the more patient one. So I think, all of these little attributes are going to just make him an incredible dad.'”
“When I see him with little kids, he’s the best,” she added. “He’s always the favorite uncle. Everybody wants to play with him or do something with him. He’s just the best. He just knows how to speak to them and how to handle them. How to make them feel so confident and excited.”
While Chmerkovskiy hopes to come back to DWTS in the fall, Johnson will continue to focus on the health and well-being of their baby.
Congratulations, Chmerkovskiys!
