The newly engaged couple shared new details from their romantic proposal and how they fell in love almost at first sight.
After his adorable proposal in Venice, Italy, last month, Val Chmerkovskiy and Jenna Johnson are still feeling the excitement of being engaged.
ET's Lauren Zima spoke with the couple at the opening of fellow DWTS stars Gleb Savchenko and Elena Samodanova's dance studio, Pro Dance LA, where they revealed more details from the surprise proposal.
"I had no idea," Johnson said of the romantic moment. Chmerkovskiy admitted it was a more "spontaneous" moment, planning the proposal only "a couple of days" beforehand.
But even though the actual act of putting a ring on it was sudden, he did get the most important approval of all before going ahead.
"I asked her father, obviously that was a huge thing," Chmerkovskiy said. "With our tour we were in Utah probably beginning of May and so it was a month before I proposed. So about a month, a little more than that."
"I was shocked because I’m very traditional and so he knew that talking to my dad was really important and he was very adamant about doing it in person," Johnson added. "And so the first thing I actually said to him was, ‘Did you ask my dad?’ And he was like, ‘Yes, of course!’"
Chmerkovskiy agreed with his fiance's traditonal take on getting her father's blessing.
"This was a first time for me and there’s just such beauty in that, you know, in any individuals coming together and doing it in a, I don’t know, traditional way that matters," he said. "Everyone does it different and it’s beautiful regardless but the fact that I was able to speak to her dad and ask for his permission, and he gave it, so it was a beautiful thing and I knew how much it meant to her too."
"I think it was emotional for my dad because I’m the baby of the girls and so I’m his last baby girl to get married. So, I think it was like, ‘Ahhh," Johnson said.
The DWTS couple have been dating for about two years, and it was love at first sight for Johnson.
"The first time I saw him, actually my first day of rehearsal after I finished So You Think You Can Dance, I was the only new person joining the cast. I’ll never forget it, I walked into the cabin and I was so nervous and he was one of the first people I saw and he came up and tried to introduce himself and I was like, ‘Oh gosh! He’s the one!’ And that was like 5 years ago," Johnson revealed.
Chmerkovskiy added that in life, timing matters.
"Yeah, I think love at first sight is a beautiful thing and I obviously was very attracted to her and wanted to meet her," he recalled. "I’m very lucky, you know. That’s the truth and I think time comes when you just have to acknowledge how lucky you are to have some people in your life and I realize that and that’s what I mean by timing. I just realized, ‘Wow! This incredible woman loves me. What more do you really need?’ And so that’s when I felt like, ‘I got to lock it down, you know?’"
"He also turned 30, and that helped I would say," teased Johnson.
The couple also acknowledged how they help each other improve and grow as people in their relationship.
"She makes me a little bit more accountable. Gives me a tough time you know," Chemrkovskiy said.
He added, "I just realize how much I love seeing her grow and shine and I’m just, you know I just love her and so it was like, ‘Man, why not celebrate that love forever?’"
As for the wedding plans, the couple picked up some tips and inspiration from Chmerkovskiy's older brother Maksim Chmerkovskiy's wedding to Peta Murgatroyd.
"I just want to put it out there right now for all my friends. 'You’re not invited. You’re not invited and don’t take it personally,'" he joked. "We’ve been talking budgets. We’ve been talking 2018. We’re talking like, I celebrate you every day. Why do we need to pay extra for another meal?".
The pressure for fancy nuptials is also getting to the bride.
"At this point I would love to elope because wedding planning is stressful," Johnson said.
She added, "All I know is that I want my family there, and I want him there and that’s it. I haven’t ever -- I haven’t looked at dresses enough. I need to try them on I think. But, it’s all very exciting and new so -- I’m excited."
For more on the couple's sweet romance, watch the video below!
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