Maksim Chmerkovskiy Excited to Join ‘Small Club’ of Dads with 3 Boys Ahead of Son’s Birth (Exclusive)

“I already feel like when you walk around and you feel like you're part of the small club,” he tells PEOPLE

HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 01: Maksim Chmerkovskiy attends the 2024 iHeartRadio Music Awards at Dolby Theatre on April 01, 2024 in Hollywood, California.
Maksim Chmerkovskiy. Photo:

Frazer Harrison/Getty

Maksim Chmerkovskiy is a proud boy dad!

Chmerkovskiy, 44, caught up with PEOPLE at the iHeartRadio Music Awards on Monday to talk about what’s ahead for him, including the upcoming birth of his third son with wife Peta Murgatroyd. When reflecting on his time as a dad of two boys, he says bringing another into the mix is exciting.

“I already feel like when you walk around and you feel like you're part of the small club,” he says. “Now I understand what most of Utah feels like with a lot of kids in their families. I didn't before. Now I get it.”

He adds, “Most importantly, I want to give homage to all the parents of a multitude of kids, the ones that do it right with all of them. I don't know how yet.”

Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Peta Murgatroyd at arrivals for InTouch Weekly''s 5th Annual Icons & Idols Post-VMA Party, Chateau Marmont, Los Angeles, CA September 6, 2012.
Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Peta Murgatroyd. Elizabeth Goodenough/Everett Collection

The professional dancers, who share 7-year-old Shai and 9-month-old Rio, previously said their third pregnancy was a “surprise.” As for Murgatroyd, 37, the So You Think You Can Dance judge admits he is impressed by her ability to care for their two children, let alone three.

“I do feel like mothers of two-plus kids deserve a special extra medal,” he says. “You’re going to have to stock up medals for that. It's a lot of energy. It's about to be chaotic, and I love it.”

The Dancing with the Stars alum jokes that his 7-year-old is a “little me” and that he is “terrified not to mess up.” He also says he is excited to experience the journey with his family all over again.

“I'm doing my best, but he looks like little me,” he says. “My parents are smitten every day. They look at him like, ‘I can't believe it. It's you.’”

Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Shai Chmerkovskiy and Peta Murgatroyd attend the global premiere screening of Great Wolf Entertainment’s “The Great Wolf Pack: A Call to Adventure” at Great Wolf Lodge on August 23, 2022 in Garden Grove, California.
Chmerkovskiy family. Vivien Killilea/Getty

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Last year, Chmerkovskiy’s brother Val, 38, welcomed his first child — also a boy — with Jenna Johnson. He says they hope to raise their children the same way they were raised.

“Nonstop, our mom said that phrase over and over: ‘When we die, you'll only have each other,’ ” the Ukrainian dancer explains. “We grew up, we never fought. We never actually — two brothers, two men, two boys — never wrestled, never nothing. There was nothing but love."

"That was a foundation like seven times over. So we're doing the same thing," he continues. "He's hugging him, he's kissing him. He can't wait for the other one. He rubs Mommy's belly.”

Chmerkovskiy adds, “They'll be tight, as tight as we are, and the cousins as well.”

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