Jenna Johnson got candid about missing how her skin looked during her pregnancy with son Rome.
“I felt like when I was pregnant, my skin was glowing and plump and gorgeous. I feel like I didn’t get one pimple when I was pregnant,” the Dancing With the Stars pro, 30, exclusively told Us Weekly on Thursday, May 16, while promoting her partnership with Exuviance. “As soon as I pushed out Rome in the hospital, I felt my skin just flop. It was dull. It was just sad.”
Johnson, who welcomed son Rome with husband Val Chmerkovskiy in January 2023, went on to share that she was “happy to be done being pregnant,” but she missed feeling “confident” with her skin.
“I love that there are these set products that I can quickly do [with Exuviance] to feel my best and to get my skin back to where it needs to be,” she added.
Aside from losing her pregnancy glow, Johnson opened up about some challenging moments she has faced since becoming a mom.
“It was the first day we brought him home from the hospital and I had never felt so much love, but I had also never felt so much fear,” Johnson told Us. “I remember I was rocking him to sleep for the first time in his new nursery and I was singing him these nursery songs and I couldn’t stop crying and I didn’t know what it was. I just know that I was so overwhelmed, like emotions of what your life is gonna be like. … I just feel like there is so much emotion involved in motherhood.”
Johnson said another “scary” moment happened the first time that Rome got sick.
“He just got croup recently, and that was an experience that terrified us,” she shared. “He is fully recovered, but nothing prepares you for a sick child and what you’re gonna feel in that moment. It’s crazy.”
Despite dealing with some parenting obstacles, Johnson has enjoyed the “little daily triumphs” that come along with being a mom for the first time.
“Any little thing he does, like he’s walking right now, he’s trying to walk, he’s not fully walking by himself, but even these little moments of like, ‘He almost did it,’” she gushed. “It’s like I won a mirror ball. It’s the most exciting thing that’s ever happened to me. … Just every part of it is an emotional roller-coaster. But I love it.”
Despite the emotional ups and downs of being a parent, Johnson noted that she and Chmerkovskiy, 38, who tied the knot in 2019, want to keep expanding their family one day.
“I’m very content with where we’re at right now, but obviously we definitely want more kids,” she told Us, adding that she doesn’t think it will be “anytime soon.”
While Johnson is still adjusting to her new role as a mom and continuing her life as a pro dancer, she has gained more confidence in herself by adding Exuviance to her skincare routine.
“Over the years, I’ve had to figure out how to help my skin and to take priority in these little moments that I do have to find a routine that works for me,” Johnson shared, noting that she has to be “super picky” about what works with her sensitive skin. “I love their cream cleanser. I feel like it doesn’t make my skin oily but also isn’t too strong where it strips, and I feel super dry afterwards.”
With reporting by Mandie DeCamp
