Val and Jenna Age Gap

TL;DR: Val Chmerkovskiy is 37 years old, and Jenna Johnson is 30 years old, creating a 7-year age gap between them. Val was born on March 24, 1986, and Jenna was born on April 12, 1994. The couple married in 2019 and are both professional dancers on Dancing with the Stars.

Val and Jenna Age Difference Infographic

The Math That Started Everything

Val was born March 22, 1986. Jenna arrived April 12, 1994. That's precisely 8 years, 0 months, and 21 days between them—not the vague "about eight years" you'll find elsewhere. When they first met on the Dancing with the Stars set in 2014, he was 28 and already a fan favorite veteran. She was 20 and brand new to the troupe.

The professional hierarchy made their age difference feel even bigger. Val had name recognition, established partnerships, and years of experience. Jenna was learning the ropes, literally dancing in the background. This wasn't just an age gap—it was a full power imbalance that would need serious recalibration.

Speaking of power dynamics, here's where their story takes a sharp left turn...

What Makes Their "Maturity Inversion" So Fascinating?

Most age-gap couples follow a predictable script: older partner guides younger partner through life. Val and Jenna said "absolutely not" to that tired trope. Instead, they've built their entire public narrative around what relationship experts might call a "maturity inversion"—and Val's been shockingly candid about it.

"I was an idiot," Val has stated publicly about their initial breakup. Not "we weren't ready" or "the timing was off"—straight-up "I was an idiot." He's also admitted he "wasn't in the right place" when Jenna was ready for commitment. Meanwhile, Jenna describes herself as an "old soul," effectively aging herself up emotionally while Val owns his need to grow into the relationship.

This flip completely neutralizes the usual age-gap criticism. How can anyone side-eye an older guy for dating younger when he's literally telling everyone she was more mature than him?

📊 By The Numbers: Val was 32 when they got engaged in Venice, while Jenna was 24—but emotionally, their own narrative suggests those numbers were reversed.

Timeline Receipts: From Mentor-Mentee to Power Couple

The evolution from 2014 to now reads like a masterclass in relationship rehabilitation:

2014-2016: The Messy Beginning They met, they dated, it was "on-again, off-again," and then it was definitively off. Val briefly dated Amber Rose (because of course there's an Amber Rose cameo in this story). The power imbalance—both professional and personal—made a real partnership impossible.

2017: The Game-Changing Reconciliation By summer 2017, everything had shifted. Jenna wasn't just troupe anymore—she'd been promoted to full professional partner status on DWTS. She had her own fanbase, her own partnerships, her own reputation. When they went public with their reunion, they were finally peers in every sense.

2018: Venice Said Yes The June 14 proposal in Italy was peak romance, complete with gondolas and sunset lighting that would make The Bachelor jealous. Val at 32 had finally caught up to where Jenna at 24 had always been: ready for forever.

2019: The Birthday Wedding Here's a detail that deserves its own spotlight: They married on April 13, literally the day after Jenna's 25th birthday. Whether intentional or cosmic coincidence, she entered her quarter-life milestone as a newlywed. The symbolism practically writes itself.

2023: Baby Makes Three Rome Valentin Chmerkovskiy arrived January 10, after the couple openly shared their fertility struggles. Val at 36 and Jenna at 28 became parents right on schedule with their "she's always been the mature one" narrative.

But how does ValJenna (yes, we're coining it) stack up against Hollywood's other age-gap success stories?

The Strategic Genius of Val's Self-Roast Campaign

Let's talk about Val's repeated public declarations of being an "idiot" during their first attempt. This isn't just refreshing honesty—it's brilliant narrative control. By roasting himself harder than any tabloid ever could, he completely defanged potential criticism.

Think about it: An established male dancer in his late twenties breaks up with his younger colleague? The gossip headlines write themselves. But when he beats everyone to the punch with "I was immature and not ready," what's left to say? He transformed a potentially messy celebrity split into a redemption arc worthy of a Hallmark movie.

This approach sets them apart from couples who either ignore their age gap entirely (Blake and Ryan's humor deflection) or lean into traditional dynamics (George and Amal's sophisticated bachelor narrative). Val and Jenna created a third option: total transparency about growth and timing.

🔍 Age-Gap Intel: Their story proves that sometimes the older partner needs to do the catching up—a complete reversal of Hollywood's usual "wise older man" trope.

Why Their Professional Evolution Matters More Than Their Birth Years

The real turning point wasn't about age—it was about equality. When they first met, Val was the established star and Jenna was learning his world. That dynamic doomed their first attempt, despite whatever chemistry sparked between rehearsals.

Their successful 2017 reconciliation coincided perfectly with Jenna's professional ascension. She wasn't Val's mentee anymore. She was his peer, with her own Mirror Ball victories and fan following. They could finally meet as equals on and off the dance floor.

This matters because it reframes their entire age-gap narrative. Eight years means nothing when both partners occupy the same professional tier. It means everything when one person holds all the cards. Their story isn't really about age at all—it's about finding balance.

Do you think professional equality matters more than age compatibility in relationships? Because ValJenna just made a compelling case.

The Modern Love Lesson Hidden in Their Timeline

Val and Jenna accidentally created a blueprint for making age gaps work in 2025: Own your growth publicly, wait for true equality, and flip tired narratives on their head. They're not hiding from their eight-year difference or pretending it doesn't exist. Instead, they've made it the foundation of their love story—not as an obstacle but as the exact condition that forced them both to level up.

Their wedding date timing (literally the day after her 25th birthday) feels like the universe's way of saying "this is exactly when it was supposed to happen." Not when they first met, not during the messy on-off years, but at the precise moment when professional equality met personal readiness.

This is Age-Gap Files gold—proof that the right connection transcends birth certificates when both people are willing to grow. ValJenna didn't just make their age gap work; they made it the best part of their story.

Keep the conversation going in our comments—your age-gap takes are always welcome.

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