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Neneka Ihim is pregnant with her and her husband Dr. Ikenna Ihimfirst baby, but it’s a “bittersweet” celebration.
The Real Housewives of Potomac The 37-year-old star announced her pregnancy on Wednesday, January 22, revealing she was due in May. While Nneka said People she “always wanted to be a mother” her road to a successful pregnancy was not easy.
Nneka explained that after trying to conceive for two years, including three rounds of in vitro fertilization (IVF), she learned she was having twins.
The Bravo star had two embryos, a boy and a girl, implanted at the same time but during her eight-week check-up, Nneka was told she had lost one of the babies.
“We showed up for an appointment and one of the twins no longer had a heartbeat,” Nneka recalled. “So that was very, very difficult. I mean, the moment I walked out of my doctor’s office, I burst into tears.”
The next four days were the hardest, Nneka explained, noting that she “felt incomplete” once she was no longer carrying twins.
“There is trauma within the celebration,” he admitted. “But at the same time, we’ve been through this for so long and God has finally blessed us with this pregnancy, so we’re trying to be very optimistic here.”
It’s been a tough road to parenthood for many celebrity parents, including Chrissy Teigen and John Legend. After in vitro fertilization didn’t work on the first try, Teigen wondered if she had done something wrong. “You look for anything to blame, especially yourself,” Teigen explained to New York Magazine’s The Cut in April (…)
More than halfway through her pregnancy, Nneka said she felt “more stable” and her baby was “very healthy and very strong,” according to her doctors.
Nneka did it RHOP debut during season 8 in 2023. From the very beginning she took fans on her fertility journey, which included two rounds of intrauterine insemination (IUI) before she turned to IVF. (He left the Bravo show after one term.)
The ups and downs led to Nneka and her husband, whom she married in August 2021, to consider surrogacy and additional options. In September 2024, the couple decided to try IVF once again with “no expectations” and it was successful.
“Up until that point, I was getting a lot of anxiety but that round, I didn’t put any pressure on myself,” Nneka recalled to People. “I was in a very light mindset; much more careless. I even went to Paris with my friends. And the next thing I knew, I found out the good news: I was pregnant.”
Brian Stukes/Getty Images Real Housewives of Potomac Candiace Dillard Bassett is pregnant and expecting her first baby with husband Chris Bassett. “I’m about 13 weeks … so almost in the second trimester. It’s been weird, but also really great, I think, to keep things like this to ourselves up to this point,” Dillard Bassett, (…)
Although Nneka is still dealing with the loss of one pregnancy, she said she has had an “amazing” support system in Ikenna, 40, and is ready to be a parent.
“He is so delighted. She can’t wait for this child to come,” she told her husband. “It’s a dream come true for both of us.”
Nneka revealed, “Sometimes I still have to pinch myself, it’s so surreal and terrifying.” He added that even the fun stuff doesn’t feel real. “Even now I’m trying to plan my baby shower and I’m just like, ‘Wow, this is really happening to me,'” she said.
