‘Dancing With the Stars’ Pro Starts First Round of IVF

Peta Murgatroyd is opening up about starting her journey with in vitro fertilization. The Dancing With the Stars alum shared an Instagram video on Monday where she gave herself the first of many injections in her and husband Maksim Chmerkovskiy’s journey toward baby No. 2.

In the video, Murgatroyd wore a gray long sleeve shirt and sweats, exposing her stomach. “So, this is it, I’m in my bathroom the first night that I’m gonna be doing my IVF treatment,” the professional dancer began. “I’m excited. I have two injections to do. I’m gonna keep it real with you guys.” Saying she’s “very used” to injections after receiving peptide treatments, she did wince a bit at the size of the needles she had to use for IVF.

“Well, the needle is definitely longer and thicker,” she said while injecting her stomach. “Woo. Finito. I feel fine. It’s done.” Murgatroyd, 35, also addressed the possibility of weight gain during her IVF treatments. “I was also told that I will put on a little weight with this,” she said. “What are you gonna do? You want a baby, then, it’s what I’m doing. Actually, luckily, my husband likes a little extra, like, cushion for the pushin’, you know what I’m saying? So it’s fine.”

She proceeded to mix some liquid before attaching the second needle head to the syringe for the second shot. After a bit of confusion, she was again successful, and did a little dance in celebration, saying that this is the most excited she’s been in a “very long time.”

“Guys, I know there’s no promises, I know that this is a risk, a gamble, we don’t know what’s gonna happen, but I think this is the most excited I’ve been in a very long time,” Murgatroyd said. “I just pray that these medications don’t make me crazy.”

Murgatroyd has been extremely open with her fertility struggles, revealing this week that she suffered a miscarriage while Chmerkovskiy was in Ukraine earlier this year. She was rushed to the hospital amid a battle with COVID-19 when she found out she was pregnant but had already lost the baby. “I ultimately had no idea [I was pregnant], which in hindsight was better for my recovery because I didn’t have that super joyous moment of, ‘I’m pregnant again!’ I just had that moment of, ‘You lost it,’” she said at the time.

Sadly, that wasn’t the first time the couple have suffered a miscarriage, with Peta experiencing pregnancy losses in 2020 and 2021. The two remain positive while actively working toward giving their 5-year-old son Shai a sibling.