Kristen Welker is gearing up to meet her new baby boy.
The Meet the Press moderator, 47, announced on the Tuesday, May 14, episode of Today that she and her husband, John Hughes, are expecting their second child via surrogate. “If you had told me five years ago that I would be the mother of a beautiful little girl and that we would be about to welcome a second baby, I would not have believed you because it has been such a long journey,” Welker stated in a video package.
Welker and Hughes welcomed their daughter, Margot, in June 2021 via surrogate, which they also announced on Today. At the time, Welker opened up about her struggles with infertility, revealing that doctors informed her she wouldn’t be able to carry a baby.
“Hearing from so many people after that, you know, many of whom we don’t know or we may never meet, but to receive the support [and] the love … and many of them shared with us that this was something that they had experienced, too,” Hughes stated on Tuesday.
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Welker, for her part, added: “I think that it’s so emotional because there is so much loss involved when you are struggling with infertility.”
She went on to call their surrogate an “angel on Earth,” stating that the woman is getting advice and support from the couple’s previous surrogate. “And so, we’re like a little family, all together,” the Today alum quipped.
The pair learned not long after Welker took over for Chuck Todd as moderator of Meet the Press in September 2023 that baby No. 2 is on the way. According to the duo, their son is expected to arrive this summer.
“There are many moments in infertility where it’s just you, it’s just you and your partner. It’s very hard, so I’m very proud,” Hughes stated in the video package, to which Welker added, “I’m proud, too, that we didn’t give up. Love you, sweetheart.”
Back in the Today studio, Welker told cohosts Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie that Margot is “so excited” to meet her baby brother. “This has allowed me to share with Margot and to start explaining to her her remarkable journey to this Earth,” Welker said. “I say, ‘Mama had a boo-boo, so I couldn’t carry Margot and I can’t carry your brother, but here’s our angel on Earth who’s carrying baby brother.’”
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Hughes, meanwhile, said relying on each other has helped him and Welker overcome their challenges on the path to parenthood. “There’s a lot sometimes, as we’ve said, you know, it can feel isolating, but that’s partly why we want to share our story,” he stated. “And hopefully, it reaches others, as well. I think most of all, though, this go-around, I’m just so filled with excitement for what’s to come.”
Welker also quipped that she and Hughes will have to ask Guthrie, 52, for advice on how to be “boy parents.” Guthrie shares daughter Vale, 9, and son Charley, 7, with her husband, Michael Feldman. Kotb, 59, is also a mother of two, sharing daughters Haley, 7, and Hope, 4, with her ex-fiancé, Joel Schiffman.
