Peta Murgatroyd is “forever grateful” that her husband, Maksim Chmerkovskiy, has made it back safely to the United States.
The former “Dancing with the Stars” pro arrived back to the United States last week on Wednesday after a days-long escape from Ukraine, where he was greeted at the airport by Murgatroyd.
On Saturday, March 5, Murgatroyd shared a post on Instagram celebrating her husband's safe return to Los Angeles. The first photo captured the couple hugging at the airport following his arrival, while the second photo showed Chmerkovskiy cuddling with their five-year-old son, Shai Aleksander.
“I never thought our family would be directly affected by this in our lifetime, I never thought what we are seeing on our TV’s was a reality in 2022,” she wrote in part. “I have never hugged him so tight. Shaking and forever grateful. Now it’s time to heal. We cannot go back to our normal. Our lives are forever changed. We have a new normal, and that’s ok.”
Upon his return to the United States last week, Chmerkovskiy told Entertainment Tonight, “I just don’t want to resent peace somewhere else because of what I just saw, that’s the reality. I don’t know really what to say right this second.”
Chmerkovskiy also thanked Poland for helping himself and other refugees.
The 42-year-old professional dancer, who was in his native country filming the Ukrainian version of “World of Dance” as a judge, shared regular updates on Instagram since Russia began attacks on Ukraine on Thursday, February 24.
As the Russia-Ukraine war escalated, Chmerkovskiy assured his audience that he was safe, but said that his mental health was beginning to suffer from the tensions.
“This is a war. This is a crazy situation, it’s insane and I’m losing my final little things,” he said in an Instagram video last Sunday. “This is not a cry for help, I’m a big boy, I can handle myself and as I said, I’m safe. But I’m starting to not be able to see my head, so I’m trying to stay focused and just trying to let my voice be heard.”
The next day, Chmerkovskiy shared that he was arrested at one point, but still described it as “the least traumatizing moment” amid everything that had transpired across the country over the course of just a few days. In the same update, he also shared that he would be making his way toward the border and leave Ukraine after sharing prior that he would be staying in Kyiv.
“I’m a little nervous, to be honest with you,” he said, “but I think it’s going to be all right. Well, I know it’s going to be OK.”
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