'DWTS' Pro Val Chmerkovskiy Shares Photo of Newborn Son Giving the Middle Finger While Nursing
Val Chmerkovskiy is enjoying the funnier parts of parenthood after welcoming son Rome Valentin with wife Jenna Johnson last month. The Dancing With the Stars pro took to Instagram Thursday to share a photo of his 1-month-old son feeding while inadvertently flipping the camera off with his middle finger.
"Savage move, I ain't even mad. #imthecaptainnow," Chmerkovskiy wrote in the caption, adding, "Also this'll be the sickest album cover one day." DWTS alum Selma Blair commented that the photo was "perfection," while Sherri Shepherd joked, "Did your son just give me the finger Val?"
Johnson and Chmerkovskiy welcomed their firstborn on Jan. 10 but waited almost a month before sharing a photo of his face or his name. "Cannot believe it's been 4 weeks of being completely infatuated with you," Johnson wrote on Instagram at the time. "Thank you for bursting my heart wide open and showing me what unconditional love is. Mommy and Daddy love you so much!!!!" The So You Think You Can Dance alum previously a photo of her son's finger on Jan. 11 as she announced the birth of her child. "Our world is forever changed," the new mom wrote at the time.
Johnson and Chmerkovskiy had a long and difficult road to becoming parents after marrying in 2019. In July 2022, the couple announced they were expecting their first child, with Johnson opening up about her fertility issues along the way. "We had actually stopped trying to conceive for about 6 months to mentally/emotionally give ourselves a break... so the shock, disbelief, and sheer joy in this moment is a memory I will never forget," she wrote. "After two years of infertility, and hundreds of negative tests after negative tests, it was heart-wrenching at times to stay optimistic and made me question whether I would ever have this opportunity."
She encouraged her followers "out there are struggling to get pregnant, suffering from infertility, or mourning a pregnancy loss... don't lose HOPE," reminding people in a similar position that while "it may not happen on your timeline and the journey may rip your heart open at times, but don't give up on yourself and your precious baby! It will happen."