Congrats are in order for Kristen Doute and her long-distance boyfriend, Luke Broderick!
The question on the minds of many fans throughout the first season of Bravo’s The Valley was whether these two would welcome a baby together. She desperately wanted a child and much of the season centered around Kristen’s unique relationship with Luke.
And just before Thanksgiving, there was something for the pair to be incredibly thankful for – a new baby!
Kristen Doute: Pregnant With Luke Broderick’s Baby
The Valley star’s rep confirmed the happy news exclusively to PEOPLE just a few days before the holiday. Along with the big announcement, the outlet published a few sweet photos with Kristen showing off her ultrasound.
The journey has been difficult, but as Kristen explains, the outcome has been worth it.
“After our pregnancy loss last year, we decided to start trying in early 2024,” Doute says. “I knew my age could be a factor in conceiving, so Luke and I discussed going for an extra push, a little help.”
“In late summer, we decided to meet with a fertility specialist to learn about our options and what could be the next step if we decided to go that route. The next month was a whirlwind — getting educated on fertility, and eventually hormone shots and preparing my body for IUI (intrauterine insemination),” she continues.
Her Road To Motherhood
“I was relieved, overwhelmed, happy, excited and nervous, she added. “The second I told Luke, he wasn’t surprised, but was SO happy that IUI worked the first time (we were prepared that it may not). He was joyful and beyond excited, to say the least! Our due date is in June and we are really looking forward to expanding our little family and becoming parents!”
During the first season of The Valley, which debuted last year, Kristen shocked her friends — and probably quite a few viewers — by revealing that she and Luke were planning to start a family together — even though he lives in Colorado, about 800 miles from her home in LA.
Kristen had a very specific timetable in mind and revealed to her friends that she hoped to be knocked up by the end of summer 2023.
Obviously, it took longer than she expected, but in the end, she got what she always wanted. Especially given her tragic loss last year.
Sadly, Kristen suffered a miscarriage last year, six weeks into her pregnancy.
She says she was diagnosed with a blighted ovum, meaning that an embryo has not developed or fully developed.
Her Heartbreaking Miscarriage News
Kristen shared the news on “Sex, Love, and What Else Matters,” the podcast that she co-hosts with Luke.
“I only feel comfortable talking about this because I know so many friends of mine have gone through this,” Kristen said during the November 26 episode of her podcast.
“And it’s really f–king terrifying because you always think, ‘What’s wrong, what did I do wrong? Could I have done something different?’
“And my doctor and my friends have told me, inside and out, up and down, there’s no cause. They don’t know why.”
But Kristen and Luke Kept Trying!
Our hearts went out to Kristen and Luke, and we applaud them for speaking so openly about their loss.
And the good news is, they kept together, and now their dream of starting a family is coming to fruition.
In a May interview with People, Kristen confirmed that she and Luke are still trying.
“I mean, that does give us hope. I think it’s not a false sense of hope. We, at that point, had only been trying for a couple of months and we were fortunate enough,” Kristen told the outlet.
“So we’re just back on the train trying and fingers crossed. We’re doing right every month exactly how we should be doing it. So yeah, we’re just hopeful.”
Kristen has yet to make a follow-up announcement, but fans hope she’ll offer an update soon.
A Different Situation
Whatever the case, Kristen is in a much healthier situation these days.
Luke is quite different from Kristen’s previous boyfriends, and according to those who know her best, that’s a good thing.
“When Kristen started dating Luke, I just didn’t see it because she went from these crazy personalities to this mountain man boyfriend now,” Kristen’s friend Jasmine Goode remarked on The Valley‘s season premiere.
“But he just seems a little country guy, kind of vanilla, but nice.”
“I, from the beginning, was like, ‘Do not, for the love of God, date him; you just broke up with someone.’ Clearly, that didn’t happen,” echoed Zack Wickham.
“But she got lucky that she’s landed someone that’s willing to work with her, and he is way better than any of her other exes.”
Kristen Doute Blasts Jax Taylor’s Comments About Her Baby Plans
Things took a turn in April 2024, when Kristen felt she needed to defend her pregnancy journey from a fellow VR alum.
During the premiere episode of The Valley, co-star Jax Taylor shared his concerns over Kristen’s plans to get pregnant and have a baby with her long-distance boyfriend. In an interview with Us Weekly after the episode aired, Kristen told Jax to basically mind his business – and laid into him a bit as well!
“I felt like that was just Jax deflecting about his own life and not wanting to deal with all of the stuff that was going on with him,” she told Us Weekly.
“And Jax loves to tell other people how to run their life. So, I don’t necessarily think it was about my fertility or actually about my choices about my body to get pregnant or for Luke and I to have a family. I think it was just Jax’s way of deflecting, not having to deal with his own stuff.”
His own stuff? Oh, you mean like his divorce from Brittany? Yeah, that does sound like something he should be focusing on, rather than Kristen Doute being pregnant or not!
Kristen Doute’s Finally Pregnant With First Child With BF Luke Broderick was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.