New Father Maks Chmerkovskiy: ‘I Now Have a Bigger Purpose in Life Than Ever Before’

Maks Chmerkovskiy feels like “the luckiest man on earth” and is reflecting on the many blessings in his life.

Although the Dancing with the Stars pro revealed in an Instagram post on Tuesday that his 37th birthday was a “difficult day,” he is grateful for all of the positivity that surrounds him — including his newborn son, Shai, who was born on Jan. 4 — and is keeping focused on what’s important.

“I am the luckiest man on earth!” the new father wrote in the first paragraph of the text-focused post. “Peta pulled through with the ultimate present and gifted me our Shai, and by looking at my social media I see that I also have the most amazing friends…” he continued, making reference his fiancée Peta Murgatroyd and the many friends who wished him a happy birthday, and added, “who clearly forgot that I’m the one with pictures dating back to when most of them were still going through puberty.”

In the second paragraph, which began, “I’m a dad!” Chmerkovskiy recognized how his life’s purpose has drastically changed since welcoming his son into the world.

” ‘Father is someone who believes that by donating his sperm for your creation, he has done his duty in life.’ Yeah, I’m definitely a dad now, but I don’t feel older,” he wrote. “On the contrary, I now have a bigger purpose in life than ever before and I feel limitless because of it! Parents always say, ‘you’ll understand when you have your own kids’ … I now understand.”

And while the new father may not have had the 37th birthday that he envisioned, he isn’t letting failed plans get in the way of his happiness.

“Life comes at you fast!” he began the third paragraph in the post. “Today didn’t go according to plan. Life got in the way. So what?! F— the plan! It’s not what makes you who you are anyway. Mom and dad make you who you are and ‘plans’ are just fractions of life … coming at you fast.”

He concluded the post: “Thank you for my birthday wishes.”

To celebrate his birthday, Murgatroyd and Val Chmerkovskiy both dedicated heartfelt (and humorous) Instagram posts to the DWTS pro.

“To my best friend…my partner, for the remainder of the most incredible years to come. You are forever the light that makes my soul ignite, you’re the text book definition of my true soul mate. I never believed in one until I met you. My love for you is never ending,” Murgatroyd, 30, wrote in the first of two posts. “…and to the best Father in the world Happy Birthday, Shai is so fortunate to have you as his guardian and protector for life. I see you with him and cry with the amount of love that is in your eyes. Our love for you is for eternity, forever the 3 of us are together.”