Kristen Welker is expanding her family!
Welker will soon welcome her second baby, telling PEOPLE in an exclusive interview that she and her husband John Hughes have a baby boy due via surrogate in June.
"This is an extraordinary moment — there’s no doubt about that," Welker — who made history as the first Black journalist to moderate a Sunday public affairs program when she became host of NBC'sMeet the Press last September — tells PEOPLE.
Welker, 47, and her husband became first-time parents in June 2021, when they welcomed daughter Margot Lane via surrogate.
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE's free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories.
Over the holidays, the couple told Margot she would soon be a big sister — news that delighted the little girl, Welker says.
"Margot has been telling her classmates that Mama and Dada are getting her a baby brother for her birthday," Welker says with a laugh. "She's very proud of the fact that her baby brother will be sleeping in her old crib, and she's even come up with a name for him: 'Lolo.' "
Welker says she and her husband were initially "nervous" to tell Margot about the new addition, gifting her a book that explained the news in terms she could understand.
"The book explained that she was going to be a big sister but it took a couple of weeks to get through … but now, she has just been so excited and we are thrilled about that," she explains. "She’ll say things like, ‘Baby brother coming tonight?’ "
Welker has spoken publicly about her struggles with infertility, penning a public letter to Margot ahead of her birth in 2021, which was pu -
blished by Today.
"When you didn’t arrive at first, we worried something might be wrong," Welker wrote in the letter. "So, we went to a doctor to ask for help. She was so smart and explained that I might need some extra help to bring you here."
Speaking to PEOPLE, Welker says she was initially hesitant to speak out publicly about infertility, fearing a negative response. Instead, she got an outpouring of support along with dozens of messages from those battling infertility themselves.
"The response was overwhelming," Welker says. "It brought me to tears. I can't tell you how many people reached out to say, ‘I am struggling with infertility. Here is my story.’ I have tried to be in touch with all of those people, to help them know they are not alone."
Welker is also working to raise awareness about fertility treatments on a wider scale, noting that "treatments are out of reach for so many people."
She and her husband struggled with infertility for three years before pursuing surrogacy — a process that filled her with uncertainty the first time around.
"I think when you're embarking on a surrogacy journey for the first time, it is a huge leap of faith," Welker says, adding that she wondered, "Would I bond with Margot immediately? Would she feel any differently toward me?"
Welker continues, "But now that she’s here, we are two peas in a pod. We bonded immediately. She looked up at me, I looked down at her and told her that I love her more than the entire world and all of the fears I had immediately disappeared."
"I really have been able to enjoy this second surrogacy journey," she shares. "This experience has been very different."
Related Articles
Follow Us