Dancing with the Stars professional Peta Murgatroyd has revealed that the new season of the show is helping her to rediscover her happiness.
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The dancer was confirmed on Thursday when Disney+ revealed their cast announcement, and Peta - who has had a heartbreaking year - revealed that returning "was the best decision I've made because I'm not stressing now".
Peta is returning after a 'stressful' year
Peta and husband Maks Chmerkovskiy have been going through rounds of IVF but have had no success; Maks was also caught in Ukraine in February when the Russian war began. "
It's not 'Oh my God, am I pregnant?' The constant worry about when the second baby's going to come. I think it's taking my mind off it and I'm doing what I love with a great guy," she said.
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Peta and Maks are parents to five-year-old son Shai, and Maks will be a stay-at-home father as Peta competes with her celebrity partner Jason Lewis.
"So much has been going on in the past year and a half with Maks [Chmerkovskiy] and myself and our family," she shared.
Val and Peta are undergoing IVF
"Maks was in Ukraine with the war and then me with constant miscarriages, and now one failed [round of] IVF. I just took it upon myself to really go back to my roots," she continued.
"After this first IVF failed, I was like, 'What do I want to do? Where am I happiest so I can get through this and just feel good about life?' And I realized that I've just really missed dancing."
Peta has won the show twice
Peta has been partnered with Jason, best known for his role as Smith on Sex and the City. Peta skipped season 30.
Other celebrities this year include Joseph Baena, son of Arnold Schwarzenegger, with partner Daniella Karagach, Selma Blair with partner Sasha Farber, Good Morning America contributor Sam Champion, with partner Cheryl Burke, country star Jessie James Decker with partner Alan Bersten, and The Bachelorette's Gabby Windey with partner Val Chmerkovskiy
