Peta Murgatroyd, Maks Chmerkovsky share fertility struggles

June 21 (UPI) -- Peta Murgatroyd and Maks Chmerkovskiy are opening up about their fertility struggles.

The couple, both television personalities and professional dancers known for the ABC series Dancing with the Stars, said in an interview with People published Tuesday that they have experienced three miscarriages in the past two years.

Murgatroyd and Chmerkovskiy married in July 2017 and have a 5-year-old son, Shai Aleksander. The couple have been trying for a second child.

In the interview, Murgatroyd said she had her first miscarriage while shopping at Whole Foods in fall of 2020. Chmerkovskiy called the experience the lowest point in their relationship.

"I think the darkest part is when the person you are in love with calls you and she says that she had a miscarriage in the bathroom, that's as dark as it can get," he added.

Nine months later, Murgatroyd was pregnant again and planned to fly to New York to surprise Chmerkovskiy with the news. Murgatroyd had a miscarriage days before her flight.

"I had to call him and say, 'It's happened again,'" she said. "This was the first time that I heard him get really upset, which was hard to hear because I know how it affects him too."

Murgatroyd experienced her third miscarriage in October 2021 while Chmerkovskiy was away for work in Ukraine.

Chmerkovskiy was in Ukraine when Russia invaded the country in February but was able to get out shortly after.

Murgatroyd and Chmerkovskiy are now working with a team of fertility doctors, who believe Murgatroyd has polycystic ovary syndrome. The couple have started the process of in vitro fertilization.