Heavy "Dancing With the Stars" pro Jenna Johnson said her body has changed.
“Dancing With the Stars” pro Jenna Johnson welcomed her baby, Rome, six months ago, but she’s still getting used to her postpartum body. Johnson said via Instagram Stories on June 17 that she needed to vent after having a “dull” workout session. The dancer said jumping back into her exercise routine has been a “mental trip.”
“I just needed to have like a little venting session,” Johnson, 29, said. “I just got done at the gym and I have loved being able to be active and to work out again and try to get back into shape. But the postpartum stays with you. Like, just so many emotions and feelings.”
Johnson said she was thrilled to be given the green light from her doctors to exercise. And she said in the beginning she was “exhilarated” and “making so much progress” but that growth has stopped.
“The past couple of weeks I’ve just felt so dull… just kind of at a standstill, like just no progress,” Johnson told her followers via Instagram Stories. “I felt even worse because I started my period for the first time and just, I don’t know. It’s been a mental trip for me.”
Johnson and her husband, fellow “DWTS” pro Val Chmerkovskiy, have been married since 2019. In January 2023, their son was born. “Our world is forever changed,” she wrote on Instagram at the time.
Johnson joined “DWTS” as a professional dancer during season 23. During season 26, she won the Mirror Ball trophy with Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon as her partner.
Chmerkovskiy has been on “DWTS” since season 13 in 2011, and he took home two Mirror Ball trophies: First with Rumer Willis during season 20 and for the second time with gymnast Laurie Hernandez during season 23.
Johnson Revealed What She Has a ‘Hard Time’ With
Johnson said during her venting session on Instagram that she finds it hard to be kind to herself.
She said she needs to “be a bit more patient and give myself a bit more grace, which I have a hard time doing but, that’s life.”
“I just wanted to share it because it was on my mind and I always feel a lot better when people are open and share what they’re going through because I guarantee there are a lot of people going through something similar,” she said via Instagram. “So, anyone else, I feel ya… I think it’s important in these low-ish moments to focus on something positive or have a moment of gratitude.”
According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecology, women can start exercising days after giving birth, as long as they had a “healthy pregnancy” and a “normal vaginal delivery.” For women who had a cesarean birth or experienced complications, they should wait until their doctors to tell them tis’ safe to work out. The Mayo Clinic offers similar advice.
Johnson Struggled to Get Pregnant
Johnson said it took two years for her to conceive.
On July 2022, Johnson shared a video of herself taking a pregnancy test, and included her reaction to finding out she was expecting. That’s when she revealed she and Chmerkovskiy had struggled.
“We had actually stopped trying to conceive for about 6 months to mentally/emotionally give ourselves a break,” Johnson said. “So the shock, disbelief, and sheer joy in this moment is a memory I will never forget.”
“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,” the dancer added.
