Daniella Karagach on balancing motherhood, ‘DWTS’

“Dancing with the Stars” pro Daniella Karagach opened up about balancing motherhood and her career as a dancer on the ABC show in a new interview with “Good Morning America.”
Karagach and her husband Pasha Pashkov, who marked their 10th wedding anniversary in July, welcomed their first child, a daughter named Nikita in May 2023 after going through a miscarriage from their first pregnancy which she previously revealed to “GMA.”
Karagach, who is partnered with Dwight Howard on this season of “DWTS,” said that navigating both the show and motherhood is still the “hardest part” of her life at the moment.
“This season, I have such a great personality to work with, but I’m drained because I want to make sure I’m doing everything I can to make him look good. And then when you go home, you can’t just like, you know, unwind and relax,” she said. “You’ve got to go home and… take care of a baby.”
She continued, “It is hard on the body, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I love being active.”
Karagach first appeared on “DWTS” in 2019, during the 28th season. In 2020, she was paired with rapper Nelly as her first celebrity dance partner.
She later won her first Mirrorball Trophy in 2021, during the show’s 30th season, when she was paired with basketball player Iman Shumpert. This year’s season 33 of “DWTS” marked her second year of being a mom while appearing on the show.
Despite describing the height difference she shares with her celeb partner, Howard, as “challenging,” Karagach said he is “just the most amazing human being.”
“He’s so funny, and he shows up, and he wants it more than anything. He wants to win. He wants to be there, he wants to work hard,” she said. “It’s all you can ask for as a teacher. So it’s been really fun. We’re having the best time.”
Karagach also said motherhood has given her an extra layer of strength she never knew she had, noting that “being a mom is my superpower.”
“I never really knew how strong I was until I was becoming a mom, whether it was a loss or a win, with having a child…is just knowing how strong I am, and shaping someone’s life is truly a huge responsibility,” she explained. “It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life… but it’s the most rewarding for me personally.”
Karagach added that Nikita makes all the long days of rehearsals on “DWTS” worth it, saying, “She has brought so much joy, we already were so happy, and this just makes everything so much better, having her in our lives.”
Karagach shared that Nikita is now walking, running, and starting to talk.
“She is so funny,” she added of her toddler. “She is 100% my husband. She has Pasha’s whole face. She looks exactly like him, but she has my whole personality. And it’s so funny because she is so open and straightforward, like she is that girl [who] knows what she wants and but at the same time, she’s the sweetest.”
“Dancing with the Stars” airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and Disney+, with episodes streaming on Hulu the next day.
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