Although this blog focuses mainly on pregnant American celebrities, occasionally, I like to highlight celebs from other nations in Africa, Asia and Europe.
Former E! reality TV star of the show Chasing the Saturdays Rochelle Humes piqued my interest when she was first expecting her first child Alai-Mai with her husband, former boy band member of the Group JLS, Marvin Humes.
There were reports out that she was half Sierra Leonean and I was born in Sierra Leone. However, the TV presenter has since been quoted saying it isn’t true and she was baffled how the rumor started.
Pooh! There goes my personal connection!
That revelation has not stopped me from still being happy to report on her second pregnancy.
She was stunning in a royal blue beaded Phillip Armstrong dress while attending the National Television Awards in London.
She is about 8 months pregnant and looked absolutely stunning!
This time, pop icon Madonna recently announced that she has officially adopted twin girls from Malawi, the land of birth of her 11-year old adopted daughter and son Mercy and David Blanda.
She posted an Instagram photo of herself holding her 4-year old girls’ hands, she in a yellow frock under a light cardigan and they in matching blue polka dot dresses.
“I can officially confirm I have completed the process of adopting twin sisters from Malawi and am overjoyed that they are now part of our family,” the Material Girl captioned the photo. “I am deeply grateful to all those in Malawi who helped make this possible, and I ask the media please to respect our privacy during this transitional time. Thank you also to my friends, family and my very large team for all your support and Love!”
On Tuesday, Malawi Judiciary Spokesperson Mlenga Mvula confirmed to Entertainment Tonight that the “Ray of Light” singer had been granted an adoption order so that she can proceed with her adoption in the African country.
“The father is still alive but the mother died a week later after delivering the little kids on 29 August 2012,” the Judiciary Spokesperson also told ET about the girls’ background. “Madonna came to the court on Tuesday with her lawyer Mr. Mvalo. The father of the children was also in court together with the uncle of the little girls. She looked very happy in court. She left with her two new daughters.”
In addition to her now four adopted children, the singer also has two biological children, 20-year-old Lourdes Leon and 16-year-old Rocco Ritchie with ex husband Guy Ritchie.
This news comes after revelation that Amal and George Clooney and Beyonce Knowles and Jay-Z Carter are expecting biological twins.
Who is your Eighties style icon? There were so many that came out of the 1980’s, but I would have to say Madonna.
What decade had the best style and why? I don’t think there is a best or a worst decade for style. Fashion is all about self-expression. Something that was once a fashion faux pas is the trend of the season in the future.
Describe your personal style Simple chic. Less is more.
Where is your favorite place to shop? Whenever I’m in a new city I like to explore the local shops, so I can find any place to shop. But, I would have to say that Paris is still my favorite city for shopping.
Daily uniform? All black and comfortable shoes. Right now I love the iconic Bally men’s tennis shoes. I think it’s cool to mix menswear in to your daily look.
Who is your style icon and why? Elizabeth Taylor. Not only was she a fashion icon that exuded class, but she’s also an icon for me because of her groundbreaking charity work with amfAR and all of the awareness she raised for the AIDS crisis when everyone else turned their backs on an entire community. To me, that’s a true icon and trailblazer.
What are your beauty essentials? I’m a L’Oreal woman, of course, and using the Pure Clay mask twice a week is a great way to purify your skin after a stressful week or long flight. On a daily basis, I use the Ideal Moisture lotion twice a day and the L’Oreal Paris Voluminous Million Lashes mascara before heading out to a dinner.
This rumor has circulated a while now but Yahoo!is reporting that Lebanese-Brit human rights lawyer Amal Clooney is expecting twins with her husband actor/director George Clooney.
“She’s pregnant with twins,” the friend said told AFP, asking to remain anonymous and without providing any further details about the sexes of the babies or due date.
The couple married in Venice, Italy in 2014 and have been rumored to be expecting kids since then, so we’ll take this news with a grain of salt as well.
Amal represents the former Ukranian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko and Australian Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.
She defended Al-Jazeera reporter Mohamed Fahmy after he was jailed in Egypt and was part of the legal team for former Maldives president Mohamed Nasheed following his toppling in 2012.
She has also defended the cause of young Yazidi women who were abused by fighters of the Islamic State jihadist group.
Amal was born in Lebanon before her family moved to Britain when she was three years old.
If true, this would be the first children for both of them. George was married to actress Talia Balsam from 1989 to 1993 but that union produced no children. This was before he became the breakout star in the hit television series ER which propelled him to the major A-list star he is today.
Janet Jackson presented her baby to her mom Katherine Jackson for the first time, recently, according to public reports.
Janetand hubby Wissam Al Mana welcomed their firstborn son, Eissa Al Mana, Jan. 3 in London. “Janet had a stress free healthy delivery and is resting comfortably,” her rep said at the time. Three weeks later, the 50-year-old “Rhythm Nation” singer was photographed for the first time since becoming a mother while shopping at the children’s clothing boutique Blue Almonds, E! News reports, also stating:
The famously private singer has maintained a low profile ever since that shopping trip. But, on Tuesday, she resurfaced at a flower shop in North London.
“A store manager helped to carry Janet‘s purchase to the waiting chauffeured vehicle outside the store,” a source tells E! News exclusively. Additionally, the new mom looked “happy and healthy” as she smelled the blooms.
A photo posted by Blue Almonds (@bluealmondssw3) on
The rare public outing came a day after her 86-year-old mother, Katherine Jackson, and her 66-year-old sister, Rebbie Jackson, visited her home. “It seems like her family is staying close to help and support Janet,” a source says. Katherine and Rebbie left Janet‘s home after four hours.
Wissam, meanwhile, has not been photographed since Eissa’s arrival.
Last Spring, the 50-year old pop star announced she was also delaying her Unbreakable World Tour.
She and her Qatari billionaire businessman husband first met in 2010 and secretly tied the knot in 2012.
He works for The Al Mana Group, which was founded by his father, Saleh Al Hamad Al Mana. It is now owned Wissam and his brothers Hisham and Kamal.
The tycoon, who has an estimated worth of $1billion, is the executive director of the group, which runs Harvey Nichols, Zara and Mango stores in the Middle East and also counts designer brands such as Hermes and Alexander McQueen among its portfolio.
She and husband Ben Seewald also starred in a long-running TLC channel television reality show about Jessa and her family, 19 Kids and Counting.
“We are so happy to announce the arrival of our sweet second son,” the couple announced about the birth in a statement. “He was born at 4:26 a.m. this morning, weighing 8 lbs. and 11 oz. and measuring 21 3/4 in. long. Mom and baby are both doing well. We are so thankful to God for this precious new gift of life and are excited to be a family of four! Thanks to everyone for your prayers and well wishes!”
Apparently, as like with her first pregnancy, Duggar has been keeping her followers and fans on Instagram up on her pregnancy progression, just last week, she posted a photo of 39 week belly from her previous pregnancy and this one.
Best Supporting Actor Academy Award contender Mahershala Ali has been racking up awards for his break out roles in Moonlight, Luke Cage, House of Cards and Hidden Figures and now he is considering naming his soon-to-be born first child Oscar if he wins.
Well, kinda. When interviewed by E! News Marc Malkin on the red carpet of the annual Oscar nominees luncheon this week, the current ‘It” guy of Hollywood, was asked if he would consider naming his and wife Amatus Sami-Karim’s baby, after the nickname of the famous Academy Award trophy.
“Maybe as a middle name,” the recent SAG Award Best Supporting Actor winner answers coyly in a video replay of the interview. “If it’s a girl , Oscaria.”
The hardest working man in tinsel town also said the award season is readying him for endless nights given that everything is coming to head simultaneously.
Everything is happening, “literally at the same time,” he told Malkin. “She’s in her third trimester and we are in the middle of the Oscar’s unfolding and all these other award shows. It’s finishing as the whole [award show] season finishes.”
What an exhausting schedule for Ali, who also took home the the Critics Choice Supporting Actor Award for his role as Juan in Moonlight.
“I’m just happy if I’ll still be on my feet come February 27.” he added, referencing the end of award season. But that is when the endless nights really begin, as Malkin reminded him.
Ali, who appeared in the Hunger Games franchise films, agreed.
“This is like the warmup for the next 10 years or 5, or whatever it is…18, I’ll take it.”
Ali and Sami-Karim met as New York University students and tied the knot in 2013. They announced news of the pregnancy in December 2016.
WATCH!
He recently beamed about his wife in an interview with Elle magazine.
“She and I have known each other for a really long time, (about) 17 years,” he confided. “So, at this point, she’s seen a big shift in things, but at the same time, she’ll ground me real quick if I start feeling myself a little too much. She’s very real, like, seriously.”
So there is this joke out there that everyone who made a pregnancy announcement last week which probably got eclipsed by Beyonce‘s should just do it again this week! Funny!
Well, the funny man and wife comedian couple of Jordan Peele (Key and Peele) and Brooklyn Nine-Nine star Chelsea Peretti aren’t scared of being overshadowed.
Peretti made a super low key announcement on her Instagram page yesterday. In a selfie of herself at Yayoi Kusama‘s Infinity Mirrored Room at the Broad Museum in Los Angeles, California, she captioned a bump-revealing photo, “”beyonce schmonce.”
Love it! It is the first child for both since eloping last year April 2016 in a ceremony which was attended only by her rescue dog. Congrats!!
Editor’s Note: So your break from Beyonce pregnancy posts is over. Sorry to the non-fans but the Bey Stan in me has a few more things to share. (smile)
This week, not only did Beyonce Knowles Carter give us pregnancy twin news, but she also overwhelmed fans, followers, haters and the like with tons of maternity photos…present and past.
As many know, the multi-platinum selling mega star’s first pregnancy was dogged and plagued by rumors that it was fake and that she used a surrogate to bring her and husband Sean “Jay-Z” Carter’s daughter, Blue Ivy in to the world.
It all stemmed from an interview with an Australian television show in October 2011 where the folds of her dress as she went to sit down made it appear as if her bump had caved in. In actuality, as conspiracy sites have discussed incessantly, her belly, then at 24 weeks was below the dress. But it hasn’t stopped many from thinking Mrs. Carter never carried Blue at all.
From an Instagram share of a beach trip with her bump covered in sand, to a snippet of a video Jay took while they vacationed in Croatia and shared on Tumblr revealing a very early bump, to silhouettes shots and post birth images seen in her 2013 HBO documentary, “Life is But a Dream”, she has subtly given the doubters visual proof that she really was pregnant. But they are relentless. Even a paparazzi capture of her in a sheer blue caftan by the pool didn’t sway them.
She didn’t seem fazed by the rumors, tellingKatie Couric in an interview before a performance at Roseland theater while still expecting, “You know there are certain things that are so far, it doesn’t even affect me…I am cool, it is so ridiculous and over the top.”
And in the HBO documentary, she addressed it again:
“A stupid rumor, the most ridiculous rumor I’ve ever had about me.To think that I would be that vain. I respect mothers and women so much. To be able to experience bringing a child into this world, if you’re lucky and fortunate enough to experience that, I would never ever take that for granted.”
Being private about her personal life may have been at the root.
She kept her relationship, courtship, marriage and pregnancy pretty private, but has opened a lot more since the documentary, to her very intimate and sensual “Beyonce” album, to the Lemonade album which many have hypothesized was autobiographical and about her marital struggles with Jay.
And now this time, she is being a lot more open about showing off her bump with not one, not two, but several nude and semi nude maternity portraits.
This week, her team also pushed out belly progression photos she took while pregnant with Blue, perhaps to head off new allegations and rumors before they start. Because her head is not in the photos, I’m not sure the suspicious will be convinced. They are certainly not stopping brand new allegations about this pregnancy either.
Oh well. The new photos are buzz-worthy, for sure.
The one that was released with the news is part of a session with famed Ethiopian-American photographer Awol Erizku, a Bronx, NY-raised graduate of Yale‘s Master of Fine Arts program. Not everyone could appreciate the eclectic purposefully gaudy look to the background and props (the car is part of a previous pop-up installation called “Ask the Dust“, PEOPLE reports), but it is signature to Erizku’s style. (by the looks of his other works) He says they are made up of the images that surrounding his upbringing in the Bronx.
Queen Bey accompanied the images from her photo album with the writings of another East Africa-born artist, Somali-British poet Warsan Shire. Her words, from a poem titled “I Have Three Hearts“, read:
“Mother is a cocoon where cells spark, limbs form, mother swells and stretches to protect her child, mother has one foot in this world and one foot in the next, mother, black venus.”
I agree with Quartz’ assessment, “that’s just how Beyoncé looks in these pictures, her pregnant body floating weightless amidst flowing fabric, her flower crowns undisturbed.
“Maternity photos will never be the same.”
Bustle mused: “Beyoncé’s latest photo album includes throwback shots of her pregnant with Blue Ivy followed by snapshots of her first daughter’s four years, all sticking with the rule of threes: She’s a family of three with Blue and Jay Z, and now she’s a three-hearted woman preparing for three children.”
The big game is tomorrow evening. Who are you rooting for? The 4x Super Bowl champions New England Patriots or the Atlanta Falcons. I know for certain our Bellyitch Bumpwatch alum Gisele Bundchen will be Team Patriots. After all, she is married to its longtime famed quarterback Tom Brady.
I’m not for certain, but I will take a guess that the scores of other celebs we’ve “bumpwatched” who live in the Atlanta area will be cheering for their home team.
