Maksim Chmerkovskiy To Trade ‘DWTS’ For Daddy Duty: Pro Dancer Says There’s ‘Zero Chance’ He’ll Return For Season 24
Maksim Chmerkovskiy is out of there. The longtime Dancing with the Stars pro dancer says there is absolutely no chance he’ll sign on to the 24th season of the celebrity ballroom competition next spring—and no amount of money will get him to change his mind.
In an interview with Bravo’s The Daily Dish, Chmerkovskiy, who is expecting his first child with fiancée Peta Murgatroyd in January, said there is no way he will miss out on those important first few months in his baby’s life.
“I’m telling you right now I have zero interest in coming back as a dancer [next season],” Maksim told The Daily Dish. “I’m going to have a newborn baby. I have zero want to do this. I promise you that.”
“The baby comes in January and then a month and a half later I would have to be in L.A. to start training with somebody else. Trust me, I really don’t care how this comes across, but there’s no money on the planet that can replace me missing out the three, four, five months of my baby’s life. Zero chance.”
Chmerkovskiy, who won a DWTS mirror ball trophy with Olympian Meryl Davis in 2014, said he is ready to put away his dancing shoes and start changing some diapers.
“I can’t wait for all of this, diapers, and all of this stuff,” Maksim said. “I can’t wait for Peta to pursue her goals and whatever and I just want to be a stay-at-home dad.”
Maksim Chmerkovskiy has already made it clear that he plans to be a doting dad, even telling Entertainment Tonight that Peta will be the strict parent to their unborn son.
“I’m gonna be a softie and she’s gonna be a b**ch, for sure,” Maksim joked to ET. “She’s the bad cop, 100 percent in that family, just because she will have no choice. I’m already thinking about the spoils and everything. I just want him to live right here [on my chest] until he’s about seven years old. Until he’s like, ‘Dad, I don’t wanna be here anymore.'”
Maksim Chmerkovskiy has long been vocal about his desire to become a father. In an interview with Us Weekly, Maksim said he is totally ready to take on the role as a dad—and has been for 15 years.
“I’m ready!” Chmerkovskiy said last month. “But I’ve been ready [to be a dad] since I was like 21. But now I know that I’m ready, I’m like, ‘Thank God it didn’t happen before.'”
Maksim has been very involved in keeping Peta comfortable during her pregnancy and accompanying her to all of her doctor’s visits and ultrasound appointments. Peta has even called Maks “the baby whisperer.”
While this could be Chmerkovskiy’s last season ever on Dancing With the Stars (because, let’s face it, if he’s wearing Baby Bjorn for seven years he won’t be able to compete on the show for the next 14 seasons!), his current celeb partner, Amber Rose, said she thinks he’ll be a fabulous father.
“He’s gonna be great,” Rose said of Chmerkovskiy. “He’s obviously very loving, and very sweet and passionate. He’s gonna be a great dad.”
Of course, Amber isn’t the only person who thinks Chmerkovskiy has what it takes to be a great father. In an interview with Us Weekly, Murgatroyd said Maksim is very nurturing.
“He wants to take care of everybody that he knows,” Peta said of her baby daddy. “[He’s] somebody that I’ve always seen as being a great father and a great husband.”
Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Peta Murgatroyd will welcome their son in January. The pro dancing pair will tie the knot next July in New York City.
Take a look at the video below to see Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Peta talking about their pregnancy and upcoming wedding.
[Featured Image by John Sciulli/Getty Images for Caruso Affiliated]
