Peta Murgatroyd, 30, is covering the June edition of Fit Pregnancy with her adorable four-month-old son, Shai. (This isn’t the first time we’ve seen Shai as both Peta and Maksim have been posting photos and videos of him to Instagram.) She’s been engaged to Shai’s father, fellow Dancing With the Stars pro Maksim Chmerkovskiy, since December, 2015 and their wedding is scheduled for next month on Long Island.
Peta has been open on social media about the fact that she was surprised that she didn’t snap back right away after giving birth. Like most women, it took her some time and a lot of work for her stomach and body to recover. Unlike other celebrity moms, her posts seemed more genuine to me in that her post-baby selfies weren’t photoshopped or glamorous. She just looked like she had a postpartum pooch, I remember that time well, and like a woman who had been athletic all her life trying to adjust to her new reality. Peta touches on those topics in her Fit Pregnancy interview, which is apt, and she also gushes over her baby and her relationship with Maksim. I don’t watch DWTS or know her too well but I do like reading her interviews. She’s incredibly candid. Here’s a portion and there’s even more on Fit Pregnancy:
On finding out she was pregnant
“Maks and I were so careful, but one night we weren’t. Days later I had this massive hot flash and I thought, ‘I better take a test.’ So I did. ‘What?! How?!’ A tear went down my cheek, because I didn’t know what to do. I was thinking, ‘Do I go to work? Do I call 100 people?’ I called Maks, who was in Vegas, and said, ‘Well, I’m pregnant.’ He thought I was kidding. When I told him I wasn’t, he said, ‘Wow, that’s good, babe’ in kind of a monotone. It was really weird! He added, ‘I’m in a car full of people. I love you so much. I’ll call you back.’ He did a few minutes later and he was absolutely thrilled and came straight home to celebrate.“We know we’re together forever. Shai is the basis of our love, and we’re just so happy.”
She was surprised she didn’t snap back right away
“I still looked five months pregnant right after I gave birth. A friend who came to the hospital said, ‘Oh, you sure there’s not another one in there?’ I laughed, then went into the bathroom and cried. I’d just had this beautiful kid. I was high on life. That was a joke that I didn’t need to hear. Back home, I didn’t recognize my body. I had massive DDD boobs. It was overwhelming. So I posted a selfie on Instagram as a way to reach out to other women. I’m a dancer who is usually pretty damn fit, and I looked like a different person. Now I know you have to give yourself time.”She calls her nanny a “godsend”
“At first, I had no idea what I was doing. I’d never even held a newborn before. I was nervous, and I didn’t want to make any mistakes. I tried to give Shai a bath and he was so slippery, I felt like I was going to drop him, so I had my nanny do it for weeks. She’s a godsend. She said, “You’ll do it when you’re ready.’ And eventually I did. Now his bathtime is one of my favorite times of the day.”Breastfeeding has its challenges
“Shai latched on right away, so that was incredible. What they don’t tell you is when breast milk comes in, your boobs go rock-hard. That was super painful! I had Maks in the shower with me, massaging my boobs. My nipples were bleeding too. But now, breastfeeding is totally fine. I even look forward to pumping. I write notes on my phone, watch videos, plan my choreography. The only funny part is my left boob no longer produces anything. All the milk comes from my right boob. Everybody at work knows I’ve got one big boob. It’s hysterical.”
That interview is really dishy, right? There’s even more in there, including a harrowing story about how Shai got a bacterial infection when he was just 11 days old and had to be hospitalized, and how she was eight weeks pregnant when she won Dancing With the Stars with her dance partner, Nyle DiMarco. DiMarco figured out she was pregnant before she told him because her “boobs had grown and Maks was bringing me food every day.” As for the quote in the title about how she knows she’ll be with Maksim forever… I have honestly never felt this way about anyone. I don’t know if it was a self-fulfilling thing, if I saw the signs or if I was just being realistic. I do like her though and hope this works out for them.
LOOK AT THOSE EYES!
The baby is gorgeous !!!!!
I’m….. not seeing it.
Why do people feel it’s ok to make jokes about post-partum bellies? Really. If someone made jokes about my pp body they would hear from me. And then, not hear from me. Ever again.
Maks is known for being difficult on DWTS and came under fire for the way he treated some of his partners especially Brandy… But Peta seems like a boss as betch, I’m sure she can handle it.
Is she? Because given her history of taking him back after he publicly dumped her so he could try to trade up, she seems like she has low self-esteem
Peta could not be more submissive to Maks, which is probably why their relationship has lasted this long. She dropped most of her friends and spends all of her time with his friends/family. His opinions are her opinions.
They did some dumb q&a for People which was funny because he knew so little about her or where she’s from or her opinions (and didn’t seem to care…he just answered with his own opinions and she laughed).
while I like her interview, I have to say…
…when I read that “we’ll be together forever” I was like “cue divorce rumors in 3, 2, 1…”
I don’t even watch the show but from what I’ve read/heard about him, he sounds like kind of a d-bag.
Her friend that visited and asked if there was another baby in there sounds like a total bitch. I would’ve slapped her
Yeah, some “friend.”
At a first I thought it was Megyn Kelly
The baby looks like her. What a cutie.
I would never, ever say, “we’re going to be together forever/in this forever!” I liken it to getting a lovers name tattooed on yourself.. and we all know how that ends.
We know we’re together forever…
Well, in a sense, you never stop being a co-parent. And kudos to her for believing in their relationship. But life is strange and people change. There are no guarantees. And they live in a fantasy world as stars on a television show. Whatever the divorce rate for mere mortals, the beautiful Hollywood people seem to have it worse. Maybe it has something to do with being beautiful, rich, and successful people with endless options. Maybe it has something to do with being busy and not having time to stay connected. The best advice for her is to continue to work in her marriage, hope for the best, and have a contingency plan.
Aww she sounds really anxious about everything. Her friend’s comment was atrocious, who says that? I have known one person who looked Tiny post partum, out of twenty pregnant friends. The norm seems to me for bodies to need their time, rather than be the same straight away
Does anyone find the magazine title kind of weird? I don’t think I would ever buy this magazine for myself or anyone I know.
I hope they stay together forever. Who hasn’t said they knew they’d be together with someone forever and then it ends in a painful break up? I know I’ve said it 😣
Together forever?, I mean God Bless and I hope so cause it’s a little family now but How many times has Maks been linked/engaged to one of his coworkers.. Lets be real?
Given his history of dumping her and cheating on her, I doubt they will be a couple forever.
Didn’t know he dumped her once already. I know he and Karina were engaged … must google. I wish her/them well. Can’t say I’ve ever warmed to him, but then, I’m not his fiance!
*Say it to make it true.* She doesn’t want to be on her own.
laughing at her milk story….i had one breast that would shoot milk like a cannon and choke the poor little bros, and the other was on snail mode and would frustrate them.
I would rather eat glass than have someone massage my postpartum boobs. No flippin’ way
Be happy for them people. Forget the past. They are beautiful dancing couple with a beautiful baby💕