"Dancing with the Stars" pro Daniella Karagach is opening up for the first time about a miscarriage she suffered before welcoming her first child.
"I just remember one day I was pregnant, and then the next day I wasn't," Karagach told "Good Morning America." And I just remember like, falling to the floor [and was] like, 'I can't believe this happened to me.'"
Karagach, who is currently competing on "DWTS" season 33, said she and her husband, fellow "DWTS" pro Pasha Pashkov, learned in July 2022 that they were expecting their first child.
Around five weeks into her pregnancy, Karagach said she woke up in pain and later learned she suffered a miscarriage.
Now the mother of a 1-year-old daughter, Karagach told "GMA" she decided to open up about her past miscarriage now for the first time in order to help other women feel not alone. Karagach chose to speak out in October, which is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month in the United States.
"I want people to know they're not alone, and a lot of people are going through the same thing," adding that when she was going through the experience, she was too shy to ask for help. "We didn't really want to have anyone judge us, you know, and tell us things we didn't want to hear."
'DWTS' pros Daniella Karagach, Pasha Pashkov celebrate 15 years together
Karagach said the experience for her was "gut wrenching." She noted she still grieved even though the loss happened relatively early in her pregnancy, at five weeks.
"If it was one day or a week, or five months, or three months, or one month, or whatever the timeline was, like, it was still a loss for me, and it was a huge loss," she said. "It was a baby, you know. So it was something we've wanted and pictured ourselves [with]."
Miscarriage or pregnancy loss occurs when a pregnancy ends unexpectedly before the 20th week, according to the National Health Institute, adding that it may occur so early that a woman may not know she was pregnant.
Symptoms of pregnancy loss may include bleeding from the vagina, pain or cramps in the lower stomach area (abdomen), low back pain, fluid, tissue, or clot-like material coming out of the vagina, although some women do not experience any symptoms of pregnancy loss, NIH states on its website. Pregnant women having any concerning symptoms should contact their healthcare provider immediately.
According to the Office of Women's Health, as many as 10 to 15 percent of confirmed pregnancies are lost and the true percentage of pregnancy losses might even be higher as many take place before a woman even knows that she is pregnant.
Karagach said she was in "my lowest of lows" after her pregnancy loss. She credits her husband with helping pull her out of the darkness, calling him her "saving grace."
"Pasha really got me out of that, like state, and he was obviously grieving with me, and it wasn't easy to talk about at the moment, but he got me out of a really bad place," she said. "And we just truly believe that we need to trust and if it's going to happen, it's going to happen at the right time."
Daniella Karagach shares sweet family photos with Pasha Pashkov, daughter NikitaAfter the miscarriage, Karagach and Pashkov decided to take a step back from growing their family as they geared up for a new season of "DWTS."
A few months after the miscarriage, in September 2022, Karagach said she learned she was pregnant again.
She and Pashkov welcomed their daughter, Nikita, in May 2023.
Karagach also opened up to "GMA" about how she was able to recover, in hopes of helping others.
"I'm sharing my story, just as, you know, somebody else shared their story to me, and that got me out of such a dark place," Karagach said. "I only hope I can help someone try and get out of theirs."
Karagach said that, in general, it is hard to grieve on your own.
"If you don't seek help, or if you don't share it with someone, I feel like me personally, it could have really taken me down… because the first thing I wanted to do was blame myself," she said. "I always find comfort in sharing with them, because even though they can't help you go through that situation, they can always uplift you."
Karagach said she and Pashkov searched for videos on YouTube of other women who had gone through similar experiences and had shared their stories online.
"Both of us were sitting and watching these like,' Okay, this is what happened to us, or this is how they went through it,' [and] that personally took me out of it," she said. "There's way more people going through it than people think, and a lot of them just don't come out and say anything…But just know that you're not alone, and everyone's experience is different."
"No matter what anyone says, a loss is a loss, and it's hard, it's really hard, and you're grieving, but you don't have to blame yourself for it, because there's nothing you can do or you could have done if you're going through this that could have been your it's not your fault," she said.
Karagach said she also found it helpful to channel her energy into something she is passionate about "like letting myself be in an enjoyable environment and a good, positive environment."
For her, "DWTS" became her escape. "It was nice to have something that I'm passionate about and supported in, and just kind of put my energy into that for a second," she said. "I think that helped me truly relieve some stress."
