Dancing with the Stars pro Peta Murgatroyd has shared the meaning behind her avocado tattoo after it caused a frenzy online.
The 38-year-old Australian-American professional dancer’s career skyrocketed when she joined the cast of Dancing with the Stars in 2011 for Season 12. She became a series regular as of season 13 and she and her partners have won the show twice. However, she isn’t a part of this year’s Season 33.
Now the professional dancer has taken to her Instagram account to share with her followers why she has a tattoo of half an avocado, after people noticed it in one of her photos.
Murgatroyd said her direct messages were “flooded” with people asking her questions about the ink, which matches a tattoo her husband, fellow dancer and choreographer Maksim Chmerkovskiy, also has.
Newsweek emailed a spokesperson for Murgatroyd for comment on Wednesday.
Peta Murgatroyd attends the 2022 ESPYs at Dolby Theatre on July 20, 2022 in Hollywood, California. She has revealed the meaning behind her avocado tattoo.
Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
“So yes, it is an avocado, it’s the half of the avocado without the pit in there. So, Maks and I wanted to get something that was cute and funny but not each other’s names because I believe that, I don’t know, s*** goes down if you get each other’s names on each other or a face or an eye or whatever so we didn’t—we don’t want that to happen,” she explained.
“So we were like, what else can we get that sort of symbolizes us as one, as a unit, in our marriage, in our life… emotionally, physically, spiritually, everything.”
Murgatroyd told her followers that when she and Chmerkovskiy were in Tulum, Mexico, for his 40th birthday, they saw matching avocado tattoos at a tattoo shop that they wanted to get. However, they decided against it as it was a couple of hours before their flight home; but Murgatroyd said they have “never forgotten it.”
Then, when the couple were in Hawaii together, they decided it was finally time to get the matching tattoos.
“So long story short, [the tattooists] came over, brought all the equipment, it was amazing, pain-free by the way, just felt like somebody was tapping my skin,” the dancer said.
“So Maks has the other half with the pit inside so we come together when we hold hands and it kind of just like locks in like that.
“Yes, it is corny, I will agree with it, but I thought it was the cutest thing ever and it’s not names, it’s not anything that has bad juju or anything like that it’s literally just, he’s got the pit, which is symbolic of, I guess, being a man… can I say that? And I have the one with the hole. Anyway that’s the story. We got it done, we loved it and I get asked about it all the time.”
Murgatroyd and Chmerkovskiy started dating in 2012 and Chmerkovskiy eventually proposed in 2015 while onstage for a performance of Sway: A Dance Trilogy. The couple married two years later and they now share three children—and a tattoo—together.
The last time that Murgatroyd was on Dancing with the Stars was for Season 31, having returned to the show after a one-season hiatus. She was paired with actor Jason Lewis and they were the first couple eliminated.
Chmerkovskiy hasn’t danced in the long-running reality competition show since season 25, having previously announced his retirement from the program.
