Emily Ratajkowski has announced she is pregnant with her first child.
The model revealed she and husband Sebastian Bear-McClard are expecting their first child together on the digital cover of Vogue.
In an accompanying essay, the 29-year-old opened up about her first pregnancy and explained why she does not plan on revealing the baby’s sex.
“When my husband and I tell friends that I’m pregnant, their first question after ‘Congratulations’ is almost always ‘Do you know what you want?’” Ratajkowski wrote. “We like to respond that we won’t know the gender until our child is 18 and that they’ll let us know then.
“Everyone laughs at this. There is a truth to our line, though, one that hints at possibilities that are much more complex than whatever genitalia our child might be born with: the truth that we ultimately have no idea who - rather than what - is growing inside my belly.”
Ratajkowski then asks: “Who will this person be? What kind of person will we become parents to? How will they change our lives and who we are?”
“This is a wondrous and terrifying concept, one that renders us both helpless and humbled,” she continued.
The actress also said that she likes the idea of “forcing as few gender stereotypes on my child as possible,” but understands the desire to “know the gender of our foetus.”
“As my body changes in bizarre and unfamiliar ways, it’s comforting to obtain any information that might make what’s coming feel more real,” she wrote.
In the essay, the model also reflects on her feelings about having a boy or a girl, and how many life experiences are “gendered.”
“But I don’t like that we force gender-based preconceptions onto people, let alone babies. I want to be a parent who allows my child to show themself to me,” Ratajkowski wrote. “And yet I realise that while I may hope my child can determine their own place in the world, they will, no matter what, be faced with the undeniable constraints and constructions of gender before they can speak or, hell, even be born.”
Ratajkowski concluded the essay explaining that she is “surprisingly unbothered” by the factors of her pregnancy that she cannot control, such as “how my body will change, who my child will be.”
“Instead of feeling afraid, I feel a new sense of peace. I’m already learning from this person inside my body. I’m full of wonder,” she said.
In addition to the essay, the model discussed her pregnancy in a video directed by Lena Dunham for Vogue.
“I’ll cherish this video as long as I live,” she captioned the video on Instagram, in which she can be seen showing her pregnant stomach.
Ratajkowski and Bear-McClard married in 2018 during a surprise ceremony at City Hall in New York City.
