In an emotional Instagram post, the Dancing with the Stars pro announced the death of her father, Derek John Murgatroyd, who passed away at age 81 on Thursday, Dec. 29. “To the greatest Dad, my teddy bear. This is the end of our ride earth side,” Peta, 36, captioned the set of photos, which featured a sweet throwback image of the father-daughter duo gazing at each other while enjoying a boat ride. The second pic showed her reaching out to hold her dad’s hand from what looks to be his hospital bedside. “Oh how I wish we could take this boat trip again. In the next life we will,” she wrote. “This glance to each other was perfectly captured, you were so content, at sea where you were always meant to be.” “I know that you will continue to ride with me until I see you again,” her heartbreaking message continued. “I hope I made you proud these 36 years. You were my everything and I will miss you until my days here are done.” Peta—who is married to fellow DWTS pro Maksim Chmerkovskiy—added in the post to her father, “I will hold the warmth of your hand in my heart forever. Always your ‘darling baby girl’ as you would say. I love you until the 12th of never. Forever Daddy’s Girl.” Peta then shared her father’s life dates at the end of her caption, though she didn’t reveal any details about the cause of his death. The New Zealand-born dancer received loads of sympathetic and supportive comments in response to her post, especially from her friends at the ABC ballroom dance competition show. “Oh Peta I am so sorry for your loss. You have definitely made him proud. Sending you so much love ❤️” fellow pro Alan Bersten wrote. Jenna Johnson, who is a sister-in-law to Peta, also chimed in, “Will never forget our jazz club night with him. Pure joy and happiness.” “Sending you so much love and prayer. ❤️” Bachelor Nation’s Hannah Brown, who previously competed on DWTS, commented under Peta’s post. “I’m so sorry Peet. 💔 Sending you so much love 🙏” Danielle Karagach wrote, while longtime judge Carrie Ann Inaba added, “I’m so sorry for your loss. Sending you love. ❤️” Alfonso Ribeiro also commented, “I am so sorry for your loss. Please let us know if you need anything from us. We are here for you,” in addition to several other sweet messages from more members of the DWTS family.
