No. 1 fan! Val Chmerkovskiy is returning to the ballroom for Dancing With the Stars season 31 — and wife Jenna Johnson is eager to watch his weekly routines from the sidelines.
“I’m just the spouse now,” the pregnant dancer, 28, exclusively told Us Weekly on Wednesday, September 7, while promoting her second fashion collaboration with Jo+Jax. “I just get to be supportive.”
While the Utah native — who previously finished in second place with JoJo Siwa during season 30 last year— is sitting out the inaugural Disney+ season, the 36-year-old Ukraine native is returning to teach Gabby Windey how to cha cha, foxtrot and jive.
“I had to tell [Val] who she was [at first] because obviously I’m a massive Bachelor fan,” Johnson excitedly told Us on Thursday. “I think that they are going to be perfect together on the show.”
She added: “I love her personality. I love her work ethic and I think their banter is gonna be hysterical ‘cause he’s suave and she just like real so I think it’s gonna be hysterical. I just know from their little progress of rehearsing already before the premiere that they are ready and she’s in it to win it.”
While Johnson — who took home the mirrorball trophy in season 26 with Adam Rippon — has not attended any of Chmerkovskiy and the 31-year-old Bachelorette’s practices, she gushed over their progress after watching a few videos sent by her husband.
“The excitement that Val has when he comes home after rehearsal has just been so fun to see and so inspiring,” the So You Think You Can Dance alum, who previously partnered with Bachelor in Paradise’s Joe Amabile during DWTS season 27, noted. “Like he has somebody that’s capable of going all the way, you know? So I cannot wait. He’s never had anybody from Bachelor Nation and I’m like, ‘Oh, get ready, they are committed and they love their people on the show.’”
In addition to watching season 31, which premieres later this month, and nesting ahead of her baby boy’s arrival early next year, Johnson is tapping into her inner fashion designer skills for a second line of athletic wear with Jo+Jax.
“We wanted to do a line specifically that was going to be accessible to everyone and anyone,” the ABC personality told Us on Thursday. “So our sizes run from a youth small all the way to double XL. We wanted to design something that you could wear to dance class or to a fitness class, Soul Cycle, anything and I’m really proud of this collection.”
Johnson added: “I’m so, so in love and proud of these pieces and even, like, while I’ve been pregnant, I’ve been sporting them!”
Dancing With the Stars premieres on Disney+ Monday, September 19, at 8 p.m. ET.
With reporting by Christina Garibaldi
