Emily Maynard reveals she 'secretly' gave birth to her sixth child in August who was diagnosed with Down Syndrome
CHARLOTTE NORTH CAROLINA: The former Bachelor winner to star in the 8th season of The Bachelorette in 2012, Emily Maynard, 36 on November 2, announced giving 'secretly' birth to her sixth son in August who has Down Syndrome.
The reality star, Emily has a daughter, Ricki, by her ex-fiance, Ricky Hendrick, a NASCAR, who died in a plane crash while Emily was pregnant. Later when she was on the Bachelorette, she accepted Jef Holm's proposal, but the relationship ended in 2012. With Tyler Johnson, who Emily married in 2014, she has five children: Jennings Tayler, Gibson Kyle, Gatlin Avery, Magnolia Belle, and now Jones West, who is born with Down Syndrome.
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Opening up about her pregnancy, and the heart-breaking diagnosis, Emily told People, "I was in shock." She added, "It was not on my radar at all. And I refused to believe it. I just wanted to hold him and for everything to be okay." Announcing the birth, Emily wrote in a post, "Surprise," and went about saying how Jones had to remain in the NICU (Neonatal intensive care unit) for over a month. Despite the "devastating" long haul, Johnson said, "I was just grieving all of it and that the experience was so different from what I had expected. Waking up the next morning hearing all the babies crying down the hallway while I was in the room alone, it hurt so much," Emily told the People.
Her full Instagram post reads, "SURPRISE! On August 31st, Tyler and I welcomed our sweet son, Jones West Johnson, into the world. During my surgery, we learned that he was born with Down Syndrome, and while it was certainly a surprise, we have so much peace in God’s perfect plan and know Jones is going to be a blessing to our family. He was in the NICU for a little over a month and is thankfully now home in all the chaos and we couldn’t love him more. Thank you to everyone at @levinechildrens for all that you did for our family. I'm so happy to finally share the news and can share all the pictures with you guys! He’s absolutely the cherry on top!", while also sharing the heartwarming family picture of eight with the post.
Emily, who is still learning about Down Syndrome, feels she wouldn't trade Jones for any baby in the world. "He's the easiest baby and he's just been our biggest blessing," she says. "I'm still learning about Down syndrome, but I'm trying to also just experience Jones as Jones and not as different than any of the other kids." She also stated that ultimately, "looking back on my life, a lot of things happened that I wouldn't have planned. But I wouldn't change my life for anything. And I wouldn't trade Jones for any baby in the world."