After experiencing a bitter struggle with IVF, Bachelor in Paradise couple Astrid Loch and Kevin Wendt shared the heartening news with fans that they're expecting their first baby!
“A dream come true,” Loch captioned an Instagram photo of herself and Wendt showing off ultrasound pics on Sunday, May 9, just in time for Mother's Day.
“One of the first conversations @kevin.c.wendt and I had was about how we both loved kids and couldn’t wait to have our own. When I think about Kev holding our little angel for the first time my heart flutters. Even in my wildest dreams I couldn’t have imagined how amazing this would all feel.
To all the couples trying to get pregnant, my heart is with you. We know first hand how hard it can be to see these kinds of posts and feel sad & discouraged. We too struggled with fertility and conceiving naturally – it’s the toughest thing we’ve ever been through and I can’t wait to share more of how we got here. But today is finally about some good news & we hope you can enjoy it with us. #babywendt #ivf #infertility #infertilityawareness.”
At the same time, the excited dad-to-be shared his own Instagram update, captioned: "Happy 1st Mother's Day to my queen! This is a very big day for us, after a long and tough road to get here. The @thewendtgang is officially growing!! "Thank you @astridloch for giving me the one thing I've wanted most in my life. We will have much more to share about the struggle and steps we took to get here, but today we are just so excited to share the news that we are going to be parents!!"
Previously, in an interview with People, the former reality-tv stars opened up about their parenthood struggles.
"We actually did IUIs (intrauterine insemination) before doing IVF (in vitro fertilization). We did two cycles with that," the 31-year-old soon-to-be mom told the publication. "IVF is just so much more intrusive, so we were trying to go that route at first and then during our second cycle, we actually ended up having an ectopic pregnancy. I ended up having to take medication to terminate the ectopic pregnancy, and then it pushed our whole thing back another two-and-a-half months."
"We spent a lot of nights in tears because we just didn't understand why it wasn't working for us," Kevin added. "Growing up, you're always taught to not get pregnant and it always seems so easy on TV to get pregnant. Then you actually try and it's actually really tricky. There's a lot of people going through a similar struggle. It can really bring you down when all you see is the positive stuff on the internet."
The couple initially met on Season 5 of Bachelor in Paradise but split soon after, before the end of the show. However, they soon reunited and announced their engagement in August of 2019 in an Instagram post for all their anxiously waiting fans.
They had originally planned to get married in 2020 however, just like most of us, their plans too got impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic giving them the opportunity to take a new direction in their relationship - Parenthood.
Although the sweet couple became parents to an absolutely adorable pup, Ace, last year however, their efforts to have a child of their own were unfortunately met with lots of unpredictable predicaments when 2 of their IUI cycles failed.
Throughout their difficult journey to get pregnant, one thing that kept the Bachelor Nation duo moving forward was sheer positivity.
"I've really realized that we're glass half full type of people," Loch says. "It obviously took a while for me to get pregnant but I think throughout every single thing, if we'd see a negative pregnancy test or something wasn't working out right or whatever, we really were good at not trying to, like, simmer in it for too long."
In light of the incoming baby's due date, the couple has once again decided to postpone their wedding, which was rescheduled to be right around the baby's expected delivery date. Since they can't possibly postpone having the baby, the wedding has been pushed off till another year at least.