Adrienne Bailon had a perfectly good reason for why she kept her baby news a secret from friends, family and fans — her mental health.
The former “Cheetah Girls” star — who secretly welcomed her son, Ever James, earlier this month — said that after she learned her surrogate was pregnant, she only told the exciting news to six people in an attempt to keep her anxiety at bay.
“It was important to me for my own mental wellbeing and for my family,” Bailon, 38, told People. “I was just like, ‘I’m just not going to say anything.’ It was actually very peaceful that way. You didn’t have other people’s opinions.”
While the former talk show host wanted to share the happy news with her friends and viewers, she managed to keep the secret for nine months.
“Honestly, everyone was shocked,” she told the outlet. “Even my sister, who watched ‘The Real’ throughout the whole last season, literally said to me, ‘Adrienne, I am impressed.’ She’s like, ‘I am so proud of you. You are really holding this.’ I did that because it was really sacred to me.”
After waiting for what felt like an eternity, the actress was finally able to share the big secret with the world in an emotional Instagram post.
“Our baby boy is here & we are so in love!” Bailon wrote alongside a black and white photo of the family of three.
“We have quietly prayed while sitting on this most magnificent secret for the last nine months,” she continued. “He is worth every tear, every disappointment, every delayed prayer, every IVF cycle, every miscarriage. Everything.”
Fans and followers of the new mom — including Khloé Kardashian, her former sister-in-law — were quick to congratulate the singer on the surprising news.
Bailon and her husband Israel Houghton welcomed their son in a home birth at an Airbnb in Lake Tahoe, California.
She described the day as “incredible” after going through a very “nerve-wracking” surrogacy process.
“Somebody else has your child with them. We call it extreme babysitting for nine months. It can cause you to be really anxious,” she told the outlet, adding that it was just another reason she chose to keep things private.
“I feel like having people ask me, ‘How’s everything going?’ That was going to make me that much more anxious, so I just wanted to have peace and have a little joy that I could hold for myself every day and something to look forward to.”
Bailon and Houghton decided to try surrogacy after the actress went through eight failed in-vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles and one miscarriage.
She had been very open about her infertility journey over the years in an attempt to help other women going through the same thing.
Although the couple used surrogacy for their last pregnancy, Bailon has yet to give up hope when it comes to expanding their family once again.
“That’s the ultimate dream for me,” she told People. “I’m not giving up on that dream. Maybe I will carry one day and I can’t wait for that. I’m still hoping for that.”
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