The 'Dancing With the Stars' pro also opens up about what it was like returning to the show as a new mom.
Peta Murgatroyd is opening up about life as a mom.
The Dancing With the Stars pro covers Health's September issue, and in her accompanying interview with the magazine, she gets candid on how she keeps her marriage with Maksim Chmerkovskiy hot while parenting their 1-year-old son, Shai.
"With a toddler, you have to carve out time for your husband. I will say that has been something that I've needed to work on, because he has told me at times, 'I don’t feel like you're giving me all of you right now,'" the 32-year-old dancer admits. "It is such a touchy subject, and I know many couples go through this. When I wake up, my mind is immediately on Shai when it used to be immediately on him."
"So I definitely had to put myself in his position," she continues. "Any alone time means the world to us, where we can grab lunch and then maybe see a movie."
In addition to caring for her family, Murgatroyd also is busy with her own dance career. While most fans usually see the side of her that's all glammed up in glitzy costumes and ballroom shoes, dancing with a celebrity on DWTS, the Australian beauty says that's not the "real" her.
"It’s not Peta," she says. "This is the real Peta. I’m just that Aussie laid-back girl, and no fuss -- I'd rather be in sweatpants than a gown."
As many of her fans may recall, Murgatroyd returned to DWTS for season 24 with former Bachelor Nick Viall just a few months after giving birth to baby Shai. She says that despite a few hurtful comments she received, it's "the best thing" she could have done for herself at the time.
"Because I wasn't getting depressed at home, in my sweats, with milk all over me," she reveals. "I went out for five hours a day, and I was refreshed to see my child."
"I think it's important for women to keep doing what they love -- even if it’s in the slightest amount of time," she adds. "Because you don’t want to lose yourself. You want to feel like you still have that little glimmer of your life before."
Hear more on Murgatroyd and Chmerkovskiy's life at home with baby Shai in the video below.
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