‘DWTS’ Stars Val Chmerkovskiy And Jenna Johnson Share More Details Of Val’s ‘Traditional’ Proposal

It’s been one month since Val Chmerkovskiy asked fellow Dancing with the Stars pro Jenna Johnson to marry him, and the talented couple still can’t stop talking about his proposal.

During a recent interview with Entertainment Tonight, Chmerkovskiy, 32, and Johnson, 24, shared a few new details about their engagement. As previously reported by People, Chmerkovskiy popped the question while the couple was enjoying a romantic getaway in Venice, Italy, last month. Even though the setting was perfect for a proposal, Johnson said that she had “no idea” that Chmerkovskiy was going to get down on one knee during their trip.

According to the younger Chmerkovskiy brother, he also didn’t initially know that he was going to put a ring on it while he and Johnson were vacationing together. He described it as “spontaneous” decision, and he said that he began planning his proposal just days before he made the magical moment a reality for Johnson. When she officially became a fiancee, the winner of the most recent season of Dancing With the Stars was fittingly wearing a sparking silver dress that resembled her Mirrorball Trophy — or the massive sparkler on her finger.

Even though Val Chmerkovskiy’s proposal planning was a bit rushed, there was one thing that he made sure to do before he asked Jenna Johnson to marry him. According to Val, he asked Jenna’s father for her hand in marriage about a month before he proposed.

“I asked her father, obviously that was a huge thing,” Val said.

Some people might find the practice of asking a father for permission to marry his daughter a bit outdated, but Jenna was thrilled that her future husband went to her dad first. For one thing, it showed that Val knows her well; she said that she’s a “traditional” girl, and her father playing a role in her engagement was so important to her that he was the first thing she thought of when Val popped the question.

“And so the first thing I actually said to him was, ‘Did you ask my dad?’ And he was like, ‘Yes, of course!'” Jenna revealed.

Based on what Val Chmerkovskiy said about getting engaged the traditional way, he wasn’t worried or nervous about going to Jenna Johnson’s father before he asked her to be his bride-to-be; he said that he saw his conversation with his future father-in-law as “a beautiful thing.” Val also talked about the moment he decided that it was time to ask Jenna to spend the rest of her life with him.

“I just realized, ‘Wow! This incredible woman loves me,” he said. “What more do you really need?’ And so that’s when I felt like, ‘I got to lock it down, you know?'”