John Parra // Getty Images Aside from the intricate choreography and Mad Libs vibe the star-studded cast brings every season on Dancing With the Stars , the beloved reality competition show has also been the catalyst for flirtatious flings and endgame romances. Case in point: pro dancers Jenna Johnson (who’s paired up with Harry Shum Jr. this season) and Val Chmerkovskiy (who’s dancing with Jenna Dewan) met over a decade ago while working on the show and have since tied the knot, welcomed a baby boy, and brought home five Mirrorball Trophies between them.
Amid all the drama they’ve started with judge Carrie Ann Inaba, now seems like a fabulous time to scroll through the pair’s somewhat chaotic love story. If you’re a DWTS stan or simply love love, find Jenna and Val’s full relationship timeline ahead.
The pair officially met when Jenna became a troupe member on Dancing With the Stars ...
...and they performed together for Sway: A Dance Trilogy in New York later that same year.
Jenna and Val started dating after they got cozy during DWTS rehearsals...
...but they didn’t spark dating rumors until February 2016, when they were photographed getting lunch together. At the time, a source told E! News , “The pros are in rehearsal now—he’s a pro, she’s in the troupe. In their free time, people sometimes hang out. They had a friendly lunch. That’s all.”
They break up briefly in late 2016, not long after Jenna is promoted from troupe member to pro. Val goes on to date Amber Rose until February 2017, per Us Weekly .
In June 2017, a few months after Val splits up with Amber, he and Jenna take a trip to Rome together. They posted separate pics from said trip on Instagram, seemingly confirming they’re back on.
The following month, the couple attends Peta Murgatroyd and Maksim Chmerkovskiy’s wedding, and Jenna posts a sweet pic of herself and Val with the bride and groom.
In August, Val and Jenna pull up to the Industry Dance Awards and Cancer Benefit Show in Hollywood, where Val reveals he may have “caught the wedding bug” after seeing his brother Maks tie the knot.
“Is that what it’s called, the wedding bug? Or have I gained a different perspective on, you know, what love is and what happiness is?” he told Insider (via Us Weekly ) at the time. “You know, I’m in a great place and I’m in love, and I’m very grateful for that.”
Then, in September, Jenna returns to Dancing With the Stars as a troupe member, and of course, Val gushed about his girlfriend to the press. “Jenna is a huge asset to the show,” he said at the time, per People (per Just Jared Jr. ). “I think she’s an incredible talent. I’m a huge fan. I think she’s the best girl here, so I’m excited to see her here.”
In June 2018, Val and Jenna get engaged in Venice!
Soon after, the couple makes their red carpet debut as ~fiancés~ at the Crazy Rich Asians premiere in L.A.
In April 2019, Val and Jenna officially get married in Rancho Palo Verdes, California, exclusively sharing their wedding photos with People . They embarked on a romantic getaway to St. Lucia for their honeymoon, per Jenna’s Instagram.
Happy one-year wedding anniversary to Val and Jenna! The couple dropped a photo sharing their wedding cake in bed to commemorate the occasion. “I will love you from now till eternity. Happy April 13th, our wedding anniversary,” Val wrote in his lengthy caption.
After a little over three years of marriage in August 2022, the couple reveals they’re expecting a baby boy with a sweet post on Instagram.
“Today we are officially half way there to meeting our son. Saying those words still makes me emotional!! SO EXCITED to be a boy mom 😭,” Jenna wrote.
Jenna gives birth to her and Val’s son Rome in the new year.
“Our world is forever changed. 1.10.2023,” the couple caption their joint post.
A few months later, during an interview with Good Morning America , Jenna revealed that she experienced a miscarriage before she was pregnant with Rome.
“We were in Dallas for a show, and while we were practicing, we did something, and I just turned to him. I’m like, ‘Oh, I’m...I think I’m bleeding,’” Jenna recalled, clarifying the incident had occurred during Dancing With the Stars rehearsals. “And immediately my heart just dropped. I could see in his face just went, like, white.”
“No one knew that we were pregnant,” she added. “I was so, so sad. I was hurting so much.”
Val and Jenna score an Emmy nom for their Len Goodman tribute choreography, which is pretty major.
Jenna later opens up about working alongside her husband to Parade , saying, “I love creating with him. I think we have very similar visions and ideas. Obviously, we disagree on things but we try to see each other’s perspective first before shutting it down. Creating that Len Goodman tribute together was such a magical experience. You saw both of our best creative brains come forward. It was a moment in time that I’ll never forget.”
She adds, “It was an honor first of all to just be nominated, but then to be nominated with my partner and my husband is just amazing.”
Val chats with People about the secret to his and Jenna’s six-year marriage: communication. “As far as intimacy with Jen and our personal time, yeah, it’s hard,” he says. “But again, it’s just checking in with each other, communicating, making sure I communicate to her that I miss her and I need some attention, and vice versa.”
He continues, “Wherever we can find the time, we try to spend it together. We check in and definitely try to allocate enough time for us to continue to love each other and be together and not lose that spontaneity and that joy for each other, too.”
In the midst of DWTS season 35, after judge Carrie Ann Inaba calls out an illegal lift in Jenna’s Super Bowl Night samba routine with Harry Shum Jr., Val takes to social media to defend his wife...but in a pretty questionable way.
“You almost saw Fresh Prince enter the ballroom last night,” he reportedly writes on TikTok, per a fan-captured screenshot obtained by Page Six , seemingly referring to Will Smith’s confrontation with Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars.
After Carrie Ann reacts to his message with, “So this is what we are doing now?” Val issues an apology to “everyone who I hurt with my careless post.”
Aaand that brings us to rn! Here’s hoping Val and Jenna can move past the drama now and get back to dancing!
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Source: Entertainment
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