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We love love love Debbie Matenopoulos of the Hallmark Channel‘s Home and Family daytime talk show and have been a fan of the beautiful, upbeat TV host since her days on ABC’s The View. And now the veteran broadcast journalist is expecting her first child with her brand new hubby photographer Jon Falcone.
The Endsville actress made a LIVE announcement to her Home and Family cast-mates about eloping during the show’s season break and at the same time surprised them with news that she was four months pregnant much to their genuine shock and surprise.
Watch the announcement:
The show airs on the Hallmark Channel from 10 to noon ET/PT.
And on top of all that excitement, Matenopolous is also in the middle of promoting her new Greek cookbook, “It’s All Greek to Me“. Fortunately for us, we were able to pin down the busy mom-to-be and get her to answer some questions and Here they are answers to our 20 Questions:
1. What cravings, if any, are you having? Did you have? I’m not having any cravings really, I just get really hungry in general now where I didn’t used to get ravenously hungry before.
2. Do you have aversions , e.g. foods you used to love that now cannot stand? No real aversions to food either, except that I cannot stomach the smell of milk. It nearly sends me over the edge every time. I didn’t like milk before, but now it’s on a whole other level.
3. What has been the pregnancy experience been like so far? It has been really nice actually. It’s a new experience every day. Between the ultrasounds and listening to the baby’s heart beat on my home heart monitor and my growing belly bump, it’s never a dull moment. It is truly amazing what our bodies can do. It really IS a miracle.
4. Have you found it is as wonderful as all have said, or miserable because no one told you what it would be like? I’ve definitely had my moments where I’ve said, why doesn’t anyone tell you this is going to happen? But then I just laugh it off. Overall I think pregnancy is beautiful.
5. Are you one of those new moms-to-be who read everything and are overprepared for baby? I’m definitely not over prepared. I don’t think you can actually be over prepared for something like welcoming a new life into the world. The only book I am reading is What To Expect When Expecting. It’s right on the money with everything. It’s a great book.
6. Have you picked out a name? We have a boy’s name but not a girl’s name yet. If it’s a boy we are going to name it after my father who passed away a little over 2 years ago. His name was Niko. He was and still is my hero.
7. How has it been working while pregnant? It has been great working while pregnant. Working on Home and Family is such a loving and warm environment. I am very fortunate to be working on such a welcoming set. Everyone has been so excited about the pregnancy that it is making it extra special and fun for me.
8. How has it been working on promoting your new project while pregnant? What has been the biggest challenge? Promoting my book, It’s All Greek To Me has been a lot of fun. Being pregnant while doing so hasn’t been that challenging really. The only thing that has been a bit taxing has been the back to back busy schedule. I seem to need a little more sleep these days than I did before.
9. Talk about how supportive your husband has been during this this journey. My hubby Jon has been super supportive. He has been great. He massages me every day when I get home from work, makes dinner, makes sure I am eating the right things and am fully hydrated. He has been amazing.
10. Did Jon gain any sympathy weight? He has been gaining a little sympathy weight. Lol. He ate three jars of pickles in the first trimester and has been eating lots of mint chocolate chip ice cream too. I haven’t craved either of those things. Haha
11. Did you gain a lot of weight or are you on track? And what do you think of all your fellow pregnant celebrities posing in bikinis? I’m pretty much on track for weight gain. I’ve been eating super healthy. I’ve always stuck to a pretty healthy diet my whole life but now I’ve been even more conscious about what I put in my body. I want to make sure that I am getting all of the right nutrients for the baby. I love that all these girls are posing in bikinis after having babies. More power to them. They inspire me to get back into my pre baby shape.
12. Are you going to go on a babymoon? If so, where? When? We’re going to try to get to Greece this summer for a babymoon. My whole family is there so it will be nice to go get away and see everyone for a bit before the baby arrives. Besides we both love Greece so much. It’s where we got married last summer so it’s special for us.
13. Who is throwing your shower? I’m having a few different showers. One will be in Virginia where I grew up. My mom, sister, sister in law and best friend from grade school are throwing me one there. Then I’m having another one at Home and Family so that one is going to be really fun and exciting with my TV family. And then finally, my girlfriends Lisa Stanley, Jillian Barberie, and Linda Thompson are throwing me one in Malibu at Linda’s house over the summer as well. I feel very fortunate to have so many lovely friends and family who are as excited as I am about the baby. 😉
14. Do you have a nursery theme selected? How is it coming along? As far as nursery themes go we have narrowed it down to either safari animals or a sea theme. My hubby is a diver so he likes the sea theme and both of those themes are unisex so either one works.
15. What’s the oddest piece of advice anyone has ever given you so far? Someone suggested I eat my placenta. I thought it sounded pretty strange but then I did some research and was quite astonished at what I learned. I likely won’t be partaking but I learned some things about the placenta that are fascinating. It’s quite an amazing organ.
16. Have you had strangers come up and rub your belly yet? If so, what was your reaction? My belly is just now starting to pop. So no strangers have come up to rub it as of yet. My friends have though, all the time. And I quite enjoy it. I think it’s good for the baby. 😉
17. Will you have your child be in the “biz”? If not , why not? I will encourage my son or daughter to be whatever it is they want to be when they grow up. As long as it brings them joy and happiness, I will be happy too. I think it’s important to be supportive of your kids when they show an interest in something. I will always want to help them achieve their goals no matter what they are.
18. How many more babies do you want? I’m happy just having one healthy baby and then we’ll see what happens from there. But I do think 2 is a good number. My hubby definitely wants at least 2.
19 What did you do for this past Father’s day? We went diving and spear fishing because that’s what my hubby likes to do. Well, I should say, HE went and I watched. Lol. And then we hiked and came home and made fish tacos with the fish he caught. It was really chill and perfect actually.
20. Were you rooting for Greece in the World Cup? And the US too? I am keeping up with the World Cup. I love soccer. I am so proud and excited that Greece made it in. This is the first time in history they have qualified. It’s really quite special. And of course I am rooting for the US as well and so proud they qualified too. If it came down to it I’d love to see the US play Greece for the final game. That way no matter who wins I’d be thrilled.
Perfect! Such a refreshing, positive and inspiring attitude. We’re not surprised one bit! Good luck Debbie!