Real co-host Jeannie Mai Jenkins is going to be a mom.
The 42-year-old TV personality revealed that she and her husband Jeezy are expecting their first child together, in a new interview with Women’s Health on Monday.
Jeannie spoke candidly about the difficult times she had to conceive, including a painful miscarriage. “It wasn’t easy,” she admitted.
Mom-to-be: Jeannie Mai revealed that she and husband Jeezy are expecting their first child together, in a new interview with Women’s Health on Monday
“Jeezy and I kind of kept this and hid this for five months,” Jeannie exclaimed to the magazine. “So we’re relieved to finally share the news. ”
The brunette beauty debuted with her growing baby bump in a series of stunning photos where she posed outside in a flowing royal blue dress.
Mai revealed that she and her rapper husband took the IVF route to try and conceive and that they miscarried by the time the couple married in March.
“I wondered if I was being punished. I wondered if I cursed myself or cursed myself, ”she admitted. “All my life, I never wanted children. When I say never, I’m talking about a hard stop never.
“Jeezy and I kind of kept this and hid this for five months,” Jeannie exclaimed to the magazine. “So we’re relieved to finally share the news. “
Struggle: Mai revealed that she and her rapper husband took the IVF route to try and conceive and had a miscarriage by the time the couple married in March
The TV star explained that it was the “honest, pure and secure” love she found with her husband that opened her up to starting a family.
“It was the most beautiful sign that anything is possible, that you are not in control and that God has a plan,” Jeannie said upon learning that she was pregnant right after her wedding.
Mai said she had reflected on her own upbringing during the last five months of her pregnancy, particularly how her own parents dealt with the trauma of her sexual assault.
“It still affects me today as an adult. So now when I think of my child, the only thing I can tell you is how much I plan to protect this child, ”she said. “I have this under lock and key. “
“I wondered if I was being punished. I wondered if I cursed myself or cursed myself, ”she admitted. “All my life, I never wanted children. When I say never, I’m talking about a hard stop never.
In 2018, Jeannie went public with her story of sexual abuse by a family member as a child.
During an episode of The Real, Mai revealed that from the age of 9 until the age of 13, she was repeatedly assaulted by a parent.
“It lasted four years, then two years later I found the strength to say something. But if it took me two years or it took me 20 years, that does not invalidate what happened to me, “she said at the time.
“It was the most beautiful sign that anything is possible, that you are not in control and that God has a plan,” Jeannie said upon learning that she was pregnant right after her wedding.
Looking ahead, Jeannie told Women’s Health she didn’t know what to expect in her new role as a mother, but was seeking advice from her husband who has two children from a previous relationship. “He’s an amazing daddy,” exclaimed Jeannie.
Mai broke the big news the same day her daytime talk show, The Real, returned for an all-new season eight.
A former makeup artist, Jeannie has been co-host of The Real since its creation in 2013.
She was previously married to Freddy Harteis from 2007 to 2017. Jeannie started dating Jeezy in 2018 and married during the pandemic in a small ceremony in Atlanta in March 2021.
Big day: Mai broke the big news on the same day her daytime talk show, The Real, returned for an all-new season eight
