Congratulations are in order for Elle King and her fiancé, Dan Tooker, who are expecting their first child together!
The Grammy-nominated rocker revealed the news of her pregnancy in an interview with People on Wednesday (March 3). She previously suffered two pregnancy losses due to polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a hormonal disorder that commonly causes fertility issues.
“This is something that I have not only wanted since I could remember, but it’s something that I have struggled with for a really long time. Every single day of this pregnancy is such a miracle,” the 31-year-old singer shared while discussing her previous miscarriages. “It’s such a major thing that so many people go through, but it’s so secretive — like you have to go through it alone. Nobody talks about it. It’s like you’re supposed to feel shame; like you’re not supposed to tell people before 12 weeks, because if you lose it, it’s going to be embarrassing for you and you don’t want other people to get their hopes up. Like, holy sh–.”
King continued, “I’ve experienced loss and to go through that pain of losing two pregnancies, it just feels like life is over, life is done. You have to go through this intense and really just unbelievably draining and shocking grieving period. You feel like such a failure. Then when [you get pregnant again], you’re so afraid to enjoy it and be happy because you’re so scared that it’s going to be taken away. Just because I’m having a pregnancy that’s going well now it doesn’t mean that I’m over losing any pregnancy.”
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The “Ex’s & Oh’s” singer, who’s currently in her second trimester, even expressed hesitancy about agreeing to an interview during her what she considers to be a high-risk pregnancy. But as a public figure with a platform, King believes that she can share any and all parts of her life.
“I’m just like, ‘What if this comes out and something happens to the baby?’ Then it’s like I have egg on my face,” she said. “But it’s like, why is there shame around that? Why can’t you celebrate the beginning of life in this stage? I just have the opportunity to share parts of my life with people out there. Whatever my platform is, I know that I have one. If you’re going to share your f—ing life, share f—ing all of it.”
The couple found out the happy news on Christmas Day, and King says she “couldn’t imagine a greater Christmas gift than a positive pregnancy test.” But they’re taking her father Rob Schneider’s advice and not finding out the sex of the baby until the child arrives because, according to him, “You get two real surprises in life: what you have as a baby and when you die.” Her mother, former model and now professional doula London King, has been a tremendous help even though she’s not taking her daughter on as a client because King claims she’s “very high maintenance.”
But the singer has been vigilantly avoiding smoking, drinking and eating bologna during this time — even if her new collab with Miranda Lambert, “Drunk (and I Don’t Want to Go Home),” suggests otherwise.
“It’s funny that I’m putting out a song and I’m going to be singing it all over the place pregnant as hell,” she admitted with a laugh. “It would be me! Would you expect any less?”
King and Tooker proposed to each other on their first anniversary on October after riding horses up to a mountain to go gold panning in New Mexico. She shared the couple’s romantic story about how the singer and tattoo artist had the same plan to pop the big question. “My soulmate beat me to the punch and proposed to me the exact same way,” King captioned her Instagram post. “So I immediately got down on my knee too. I love you Daniel. 1 year down, forever to go. I said Yes by the way and so did he!”