Peta Murgatroyd has been left devastated after her dad died over the holidays.
The 36-year-old 'Dancing With The Stars' pro's father Derek John Murgatroyd passed away on Thursday (29.12.22) at the age of 81 and Peta shared a sweet tribute to him on her Instagram page which included a picture of them gazing lovingly at each other on a boat ride together.
She wrote: "To The Greatest Dad, my teddy bear. This is the end of our ride earth side. Oh how I wish we could take this boat trip again. In the next life we will. This glance to each other was perfectly captured, you were so content, at sea where you were always meant to be.
"I know though that you will continue to ride with me until I see you again."
Peta went on to express her love for her dad and insisted she'll always miss him. She added: "I hope I made you proud these 36 years. You were my everything and I will miss you until my days here are done.
"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."
It has been a tough year for Pete, who recently opened up about her heartbreak over her failed fertility treatment. The star and her husband Maksim Chmerkovskiy have been undergoing IVF treatment in a bid to conceive a sibling for their five-year-old son Shai - but in August she revealed the latest round of procedures has not worked.
She started her Instagram post by writing: "I promised you all that I would be open and honest. I had times where I was unsure of that decision throughout my IVF journey and even more so after we got the news that our transfer did not work ...
"One of the happiest days of my life, and then 10 days later one of the saddest moments I’ll never forget. Standing on the side of the road in West Hollywood, hoping for the best ... thinking this was MY time, my turn for 'happiness'. Life is funny though. When you think you got it figured out, it slaps you in the face and makes you start over. I keep learning that 'Gods plans will always be more beautiful than all your disappointments' … I have to keep believing that." The dancer went on to reveal she had started the "healing" process and hoped to be able to move on soon. She added: "I really did think that this was going to work. Looking into Maks eyes as he was crying, seeing our baby together …just made this experience so worth it even though it didn’t turn out how we had hoped. "I have taken the necessary steps to start the healing process. To sit in my feelings, and feel what I need to, to start moving forward with an open heart."
