Nikki Bellahas expressed her desire tobe a mom throughout the years, but she didn’t anticipate it happening this soon.
In this week’s issue of PEOPLE, the 36-year-old mom-to-be opens up about her past fertility struggles — and explains why she was “totally surprised”to learn she is pregnant alongwith her twin sister,Brie Bella.
“We both had [to] digest,” says Nikki,who got engaged tofiancé and formerDancing with the StarspartnerArtem Chigvintsevin November.
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Nikki and Brie Bella.James White
Brie Bella and Nikki Bella.James White
On Wednesday, theTotal Bellasstars revealed they are (both!) pregnant — and due only a week and a half apart.
“Wait, twins being pregnant at the same time?” Brie tells PEOPLE. “People are going to think that’s a joke. We both are shocked. People are going to think we planned it, but you can’t really plan pregnancy!”
“[It was] a total surprise,” Nikki adds. “It took evenmea good week to come to terms with like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m pregnant.’ I’m not ready for it.”
Speaking withHealthlast month, the Bellas got candid about fertility and motherhood.
“We were trying for eight months, and I couldn’t get pregnant,” said Brie, who shares 2½-year-old daughterBirdie Joewith husband and pro wrestlerDaniel Bryan. “I was stressed and it wasn’t happening. There were a couple times that I was so late and was sure I was pregnant. Then I would get my period and bleed really badly.”
Brie Bella, Daniel Bryan and daughter Birdie.Brie Bella/Instagram
After admitting to the publication she wasn’t quite ready to have children yet, Nikki revealed she was diagnosed withpolycystic ovary syndrome, or PCOS, a hormonal disorder that can affect reproductive chances.
“I also found out I have PCOS — it kills your fertility,” she said. “I’m getting brown spots all over my face, acne, weight fluctuations and hair loss.”
“I actually just found out and was devastated. You research it, and there is no cure,” she added at the time. “I just pray I have some fertile eggs left and that I can still be a mom. So, yes, I dofeel like being a mom is in my future. I am just not sure how soon.”
Matt Winkelmeyer/KCASports2019/Getty Images for Nickelodeon
And now, she and Chigvintsev are preparing to welcome a little one of their own — and couldn’t be more thrilled.
“Even though I feel really sick, [I] can’t believe I’m going to be a mom soon,” says Nikki. “I’m going to have this person to take care of for the rest of their lifeand help them do the right things andjust show them the way of the world. That’s amazing!”
“It’s something I’ve dreamed of my whole life,” adds Nikki, who was previously engaged to wrestler-actorJohn Cena(they called it quits in July 2018).
“So when I thought it was going to be taken, for me, it was really difficult. I was just like, ‘Gosh, I can’t imagine life without being a mom and experiencing the miracle of life and raising a child.’ I’mjust so family-oriented that Icouldn’t imagine not having that family life.”
Total Bellasreturns this spring onE!.
For more from Nikki and Brie Bella, pick up the latest issue ofPEOPLE, on newsstands Friday.
source: people.com
