Val Chmerkovskiy Reveals The Moment He Knew He Wanted To Marry Jenna Johnson

Val Chmerkovskiy and Jenna Johnson are the latest Dancing With the Stars couple to get engaged, but the Ukrainian pro dancer had marriage on his mind well before he popped the question to his fellow mirrorball champ in Italy earlier this week. Chmerkovskiy told Us Weekly he knew Jenna was “the one” as soon as he saw her around her family.

“I knew Jenna was the one when I saw how close she is with her family and how she interacts with her nieces and nephews,” Val told Us. “Family is everything to me and I can’t wait for us to build one together.”

Jenna Johnson issued a similar sentiment about her man last month, telling the magazine that while Val didn’t grow up with any young kids around him, he really stepped up when his big brother Maks welcomed his first child, Shai, with wife Peta Murgatroyd last year.

“It’s great to have training,” Jenna said. “He needs to learn how to change a diaper. That’s going to be a for-sure thing. But it’s so cute. He’s such a good uncle and he loves [Shai] so much.”

Earlier this week, the too-cute Dancing With the Stars couple shared photos of Val down on one knee as he presented Jenna with a Jacob & Co cushion cut diamond ring. Jenna later showed off the gorgeous ring to fans in another photo posted to Instagram.

While wedding planning will be the next step for the couple, a baby could come soon after the Dancing duo walks down the aisle. Val Chmerkovskiy has long been vocal about his desire to have a family. In an interview with Glamour, Val explained that he has a great role model to look up to.

“My father is my hero, my mother is a saint, and I want to fill those shoes and I want to be a father for somebody else,” Val told Glamour last year.”I feel like having kids is the greatest gift you can possibly have.”

Val went so far as to tell People TV he’s had “baby fever” ever since Maks and Peta welcomed Shai and that he would be ready to have a baby once he does things the “old fashioned way” and gets married first. At the time, Val Chmerkovskiy admitted that girlfriend Jenna Johnson had so many amazing things going on in her life that he would feel “selfish” if he pressured her to have a baby right away, but he admitted that he hopes to start a family soon.