In an interview with InStyle, Chrissy Teigen told the world all about her second baby and her postpartum depression. She also opened up about the origins and function of her own online social media persona: “it stops people from coming at me. If you share everything and make fun of yourself, then other people won’t make the joke, because you’ve already made it.”
Sounds exactly right. She even explains her relationship with R&B genius John Legend:
“He is insanely patient and such a dork, and he loves seeing me happy, even if that means watching The Real Housewives of Dallas with me for two and a half hours.”
But, things got more serious when the topic turned to IVF, and the couple's second child. Teigen started out with twenty embryos, but that number has since dropped to three. In vitro fertilization will allow the last embryo to be placed into Teigen's womb, following their daughter Luna, the new baby will be in the way in the next few months. There's no name yet, but the two are working on it.
“I thought I was just being a selfish a—hole,” said Teigen when it came to postpartum depression. “I actually couldn’t move,” she said, explaining that she spent long days doing nothing, the curtains drawn, massaging her sore and swollen joints. It was a mental and physical pain from the dual emptiness and joy of having a child.
“I have really good days and really bad days, and I don’t tend to talk about the really bad days. But I would hate for people to think those days didn’t exist.”
Teigen got even more in-depth in an essay she penned herself in Glamour:
"Getting out of bed to get to set on time was painful. My lower back throbbed; my shoulders—even my wrists—hurt. I didn’t have an appetite. I would go two days without a bite of food, and you know how big of a deal food is for me. One thing that really got me was just how short I was with people.""I couldn’t figure out why I was so unhappy. I blamed it on being tired and possibly growing out of the role: “Maybe I’m just not a goofy person anymore. Maybe I’m just supposed to be a mom.”"When I wasn’t in the studio, I never left the house. I mean, never. Not even a tiptoe outside. I’d ask people who came inside why they were wet. Was it raining? How would I know—I had every shade closed. Most days were spent on the exact same spot on the couch and rarely would I muster up the energy to make it upstairs for bed. John would sleep on the couch with me, sometimes four nights in a row. I started keeping robes and comfy clothes in the pantry so I wouldn’t have to go upstairs when John went to work. There was a lot of spontaneous crying."Anytime I was seen out, it was because I had already had work or a work event that day. Meaning I wouldn’t have to muster up the energy to take a shower, because it was already done. It became the same story every day: Unless I had work, John knew there was not a chance in hell we were going on a date, going to the store, going anywhere. I didn’t have the energy."
Teigen ends her essay with this heartfelt declaration:
"I’m grateful for the people around me. John has been incredible over the last nine months, bringing me my medicine and watching horrible reality TV with me. He is not the goofiest guy, but he has gone out of his way to indulge my sense of humor. When I was having a good day, he would go to Medieval Times with me and put on the crazy period hat! He sees how much my eyes light up when he does that stuff, and he knows that’s what I need. I know he must look over at times and think: My God, get it together. But he has never made me feel that way. He wants me to be happy, silly, and energetic again, but he’s not making me feel bad when I’m not in that place. I love John and Luna more than I can imagine loving anything, and John and I still hope to give Luna a few siblings. Postpartum hasn’t changed that.
"More than anything, I always want to have enough energy for Luna—to run up the stairs with her, to have tea parties with her. As she gets older, she’s becoming more and more fun. Her eyes are getting so wide, and I want to be there for those wide eyes. And I will be.
"Phew! I’ve hated hiding this from you. XX, Chrissy "
What do you think? We wish Chrissy all the best for her new daughter, and hope her essay resonates ...
The news broke out on Instagram when Teigen, the 37-year-old model and television personality, shared a series of ten gripping photos that illustrated the journey of her latest pregnancy, rounded off with three family snaps.
In an intimate confession to her 42.2 million Instagram followers, Teigen said, "For as long as I can remember, I've always wanted four children." The post touched on a childhood anecdote and took a candid dive into how Teigen and Legend grappled with the tragic loss of their son due to complications.
Teigen wrote, "After losing Jack, I didn't think I'd be able to carry any more babies on my own." With striking honesty, she added, "To be honest, I've personally blocked out a lot of my mindset during that time, but one clear memory is being surrounded by people who wanted to make sure I wouldn't go through that pain and loss again."
In 2021, the couple reached out to a surrogacy agency, as Teigen informed her fans, adding, "With our first correspondence inquiring about perhaps having two tandem surrogates, to each bring us a healthy baby boy or girl. Twins, kinda?!" However, Teigen later made the decision that she wanted "to try to carry just one more time."
Undeterred by the possibility of failure, Teigen assured her followers, "If it doesn't work, we will be okay. We've already seen the worst." She vowed to remain strong no matter the outcome, reflecting, "I remember saying I just couldn't go on wondering my whole life if I should have tried again."
The celeb couple restarted the IVF process and Teigen was overjoyed to discover they was expecting their little girl, Esti. Around the same time, they found their perfect surrogate, Alexandra. Describing her, Teigen remarked, "I knew she was a perfect match for us the moment we spoke to her. All our wishes and dreams aligned."
Credit: Instagram
Teigen admired Alexandra's courage as she gave birth just minutes before midnight on June 19. She expressed her gratitude for the "incredible gift" of surrogacy, revealing their tribute to her in the newborn's name: "We are so happy to tell the world he is here, with a name forever connected to you, Wren Alexander Stephens."
Credit: Instagram
The post ended with Teigen announcing, "Our hearts, and our home, are officially full. And to our Jack, we know both their angel kisses are from you," thus filling their followers' hearts with love and joy.
Featured image credit: Jon Kopaloff / Stringer / Getty
Following the announcement of the birth of her third child, Chrissy Teigen has now shared the adorable name as well as a snapshot of her new daughter.
Chrissy and her husband John Legend, 44, also share a daughter Luna, six, and son Miles, four, who both appeared to be over the moon with their little sister.
Taking to Instagram, the 37-year-old posted a photo of her baby girl with her siblings, telling fans she named the little one Esti Maxine Stephens.
"She’s here! Esti Maxine Stephens - the house is bustling and our family could not be happier," she wrote.
"Daddy sheds nightly tears of joy seeing Luna and Miles so full of love, and I am learning you still need diapers with a c-section!?", she continued.
To conclude, she thanked her fans for all the support as the family celebrates this special occasion: "We are in bliss. Thank you for all the love and well wishes - we feel it all!"
Back in August, Chrissy took to Instagram to announce that she and John were expecting another child following a previous heartbreaking miscarriage.
"The last few years have been a blur of emotions to say the least, but joy has filled our home and hearts again. 1 billion shots later (in the leg lately, as u can see!) we have another on the way," she captioned a Stories post of her growing bump.
"Every appointment I've said to myself, 'ok if it's healthy today I'll announce' but then I breathe a sigh of relief to hear a heartbeat and decide I'm just too nervous still.
"I don't think I'll ever walk out of an appointment with more excitement than nerves but so far, everything is perfect and beautiful and I'm feeling hopeful and amazing," before concluding: "Ok phew it's been very hard keeping this in for so long!"
Chrissy's cautiousness comes as no surprise as she and her family experienced a devastating loss just two years ago when she was pregnant with her son Jack.
Unfortunately, their little one passed away following pregnancy complications.
However, earlier this year Chrissy announced that she was starting IVF treatment again, in the hopes that her little family of four would become one person bigger.
Speaking to PEOPLE about how excited their children were at the prospect of having a new sibling, John said: "We're all excited, and, you know, my kids are old enough to really be aware of what's happening, so they're really anticipating having a new sibling in their lives. And I think they'll be good at being a big sister and big brother."
Chrissy then added: "Since we did IVF, we knew probably nine days after we did the transfer that it had worked and we were pregnant. I told them very, very early. They knew that I was going in for the transfer, that we were going to go in and put this egg inside Mommy's belly. So they knew from the very, very beginning, and they knew there was a chance it might not work because that's happened before."
We're happy that everything worked out best for the family! Congratulations!
Chrissy Teigen took to Instagram on 1 October to share the devastating news that she and her husband John Legend had lost their unborn child, whom they had named Jack.
Teigen was believed to be halfway along in her pregnancy.
The 34-year-old, who has two other children with Legend - four-year-old Luna, and two-year-old Miles - had been updating her 31.5 million followers on the progress of her pregnancy, which became more complicated in recent weeks.
Alongside several black-and-white candid photos - which showed the aftermath of her miscarriage in an incredibly raw manner; one of her in tears, her head bowed on a hospital bed, and another of her holding the child in a bundle of blankets, with Legend's face resting on her shoulder - Teigen wrote:
"We are shocked and in the kind of deep pain you only hear about, the kind of pain we’ve never felt before. We were never able to stop the bleeding and give our baby the fluids he needed, despite bags and bags of blood transfusions. It just wasn’t enough."
Now, Teigen has returned to social media for a much-needed laugh.
For the first time since sharing her loss, Teigen has returned to Instagram, leaving a comment on a photo on the @betches Instagram account.
The post was a screenshot of a tweet that read: “Just booked an eyebrow waxing appointment and I‘m excited I’ll be wearing a mask so I don’t have to hear ‘moustache too?’”
The cookbook author left a reply on the post: "Finally, a giggle. Thank you."
Her response garnered hundreds of well wishes from fans.
Per the NHS, miscarriages are much more common than most people realize.
The website details that amongst women who are confirmed to be pregnant, it is estimated that around one in eight pregnancies will end in miscarriage. And 1% - approximately 24,000 pregnancies each year - end after 20 weeks in stillbirth.
Chrissy Teigen took to Instagram yesterday to share the devastating news that she and her husband John Legend had lost their unborn child, whom they had named Jack.
Teigen was believed to be halfway along in her pregnancy.
The 34-year-old, who has two other children with Legend - four-year-old Luna, and two-year-old Miles - had been updating her 31.5 million followers on the progress of her pregnancy, which became more complicated in recent weeks.
Alongside several black-and-white candid photos - which showed the aftermath of her miscarriage in an incredibly raw manner; one of her in tears, her head bowed on a hospital bed, and another of her holding the child in a bundle of blankets, with Legend's face resting on her shoulder - Teigen wrote:
"We are shocked and in the kind of deep pain you only hear about, the kind of pain we’ve never felt before. We were never able to stop the bleeding and give our baby the fluids he needed, despite bags and bags of blood transfusions. It just wasn’t enough."
The model and TV personality has long been an outspoken user of Twitter, where she has previously shared many intimate insights into her family life, as well as speaking brazenly about politics (in a particularly scathing manner about the Trump Administration).
That being said, she is no stranger to criticism and internet trolling.
So amidst the condolences and support she and Legend received from celebrities and her followers, Teigen was subjected to people who questioned her outlet for grief.
Why did she choose to share something so personal and intimate? Many people accused her of seeking attention, while others criticized how she handled her pregnancy to begin with.
Others even questioned whether she chose to go to the hospital too late.
And, of course, there were comments regarding why she decided to "pose" for photos in the wake of her miscarriage.
[[imagecaption|| Credit: PA Images]]
Teigen has never shied away from sharing her vulnerabilities with the world; she chronicled the process of getting her breast implants removed, has spoken candidly about the realities of being a working mother, and now about pregnancy loss, in all of its raw pain.
By doing so, Teigen has given a voice - at her own expense - to something that is very common, but rarely given a public platform.
Per the NHS, miscarriages are much more common than most people realize.
The website details that amongst women who are confirmed to be pregnant, it is estimated that around one in eight pregnancies will end in miscarriage. And 1% - approximately 24,000 pregnancies each year - end after 20 weeks in stillbirth.
Teigen's refusal to grieve silently (she later tweeted: "Driving home from the hospital with no baby. How can this be real") will undoubtedly go a long way to comfort a legion of women and families who have experienced the same thing, but found it difficult to speak about.
Miscarriages are often shrouded in secrecy, partly due to the language of "failure" that surrounds conception, and the lack thereof, but also due to the scale of pain suffered by those who have lost a child.
Women are expected to carry about their normal routines during and afterward; speaking about their experience, and the hope they had for their unborn child, will inevitably render outsiders uncomfortable, and is therefore stigmatized.
So, Teigen's honestly most likely came at great personal cost.
In fact, after Teigen shared her heartbreaking loss, actress Kate Beckinsale spoke out - not only to slam those attacking the model for "posing" for photographs or taking to social media when she "should be mourning" - but also to share that she has also gone through the pain of a miscarriage.
Beckinsale wrote:
"I’ve noticed people criticizing @chrissyteigen for sharing deeply intimate photos of the loss of her baby.
"As if there’s some protocol during [the] soul-scouring calamity that, if not observed, emboldens people who do not know her or her family to say how she should be handling the unimaginable."
The Underworld actress then opened up about how she herself lost a baby after 20 weeks of gestation, and how she was left emotionally devastated by the experience.
"Years ago, I lost a baby at 20 weeks. I had managed to keep my pregnancy quiet and I absolutely collapsed inside and no one would have known," the 47-year-old star wrote.
"There is grief, shame and shock so often that come with an experience like this, plus the heartbreak of your body continuing, after the loss, to act as if it had a child to nurture," she added.
Beckinsale then explained: "Your milk comes in, with no one to feed. It can be the loneliest, most soul destroying period of time, particularly if you are not in the position of having an emotionally connected, supportive partner like Chrissy has."
She continued:
"I think it’s an honor to be allowed into another [person's] grief, especially with a subject like this which so often puts a woman into that hall of mirrors state of life continuing as if the world hasn’t, for you, come to a bloody and terrible halt."
Teigen refused to make her story or her pain palatable, which we are collectively expected to do. But nothing about losing a child is comfortable, and speaking about it should not lead to accusations of oversharing, rather we should praise the individual's strength and vulnerability.
October is Pregnancy Loss Awareness Month, and when we look at the photos of Chrissy Teigen, we must swallow the feeling of being uncomfortable in the face of such clear anguish.
The loss of a child is something that many women and families cannot just ignore, and neither should we.
If you are struggling with any of the issues discussed in this article, in the United Kingdom miscarriageassociation.org.uk provides support services including a helpline and online live chat.
In the United States, womenshealth.gov provides advice on coping with pregnancy loss.
The joyful news comes nearly two years after the loss of the couple's third child, Jack.
In an Instagram post shared on Wednesday (August 3), the 36-year-old television personality revealed that joy had once again filled their family's "home and hearts".
Showing off her growing bump in two pics, Teigen wrote: "the last few years have been a blur of emotions to say the least, but joy has filled our home and hearts again. 1 billion shots later (in the leg lately, as u can see!) we have another on the way."
Teigen had revealed back in February that she was once again undergoing IVF treatments in hopes of expanding their family.
Continuing her announcement, the former model added: "Every appointment I’ve said to myself, 'ok if it’s healthy today I’ll announce' but then I breathe a sigh of relief to hear a heartbeat and decide I’m just too nervous still. I don’t think I’ll ever walk out of an appointment with more excitement than nerves but so far, everything is perfect and beautiful and I’m feeling hopeful and amazing."
Teigen ended the post by joking: "Ok phew it’s been very hard keeping this in for so long!"
Legend, 43, also shared one of Teigen's pictures to his Instagram page, captioning the post with a number of heart emojis.
Credit: Newscom / Alamy
Teigen and Legend are also parents to six-year-old daughter Luna and four-year-old son Miles.
The couple revealed that she had suffered a miscarriage in October 2020, after telling her fans that she has been hospitalized after experiencing heavy bleeding.
In a statement posted to their social media accounts the day after her admission, the pair wrote broke the tragic news that they had lost their son, Jack, writing: "We are shocked and in the kind of deep pain you only hear about, the kind of pain we've never felt before."
Credit: Instagram/@johnlegend
Their statement continued: "We never decide on our babies' names until the last possible moment after they're born, just before we leave the hospital. But we, for some reason, had started to call this little guy in my belly Jack.
"So he will always be Jack to us. Jack worked so hard to be a part of our little family, and he will be, forever.
"To our Jack - I'm so sorry that the first few moments of your life were met with so many complications, that we couldn't give you the home you needed to survive. We will always love you."
Credit: Instagram / Chrissy Teigen
After once again starting IVF treatment earlier this year, Teigen asked her followers to stop asking if she was once again pregnant - highlighting the hurt the question can have for many families.
"I humbly beg you to stop asking if I'm pregnant because while I know it's said with excited, good intentions, it just kind of sucks to hear because I am the opposite of pregnant," she wrote.
"But also like please stop asking people, anyone, if they're pregnant," she added, before promising her followers that should she get pregnant, she will "be the one to tell you."
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