“Real Housewives of Potomac” alum Nneka Ihim announced she’s pregnant with twins, but devastatingly lost one of them in the first trimester.
The TV personality revealed she and husband Dr. Ikenna Ihim learned they were expecting two babies during their third round of in vitro fertilization (IVF) last year.
Recalling her eight-week doctor’s appointment, she told People Wednesday, “We showed up for an appointment and one of the twins no longer had a heartbeat.”
“So that was really, really hard. I mean, the second I walked out of my doctor’s office, I burst into tears,” Nneka, 37, said.
The reality star shared that she spent four days in bed, explaining, “I wasn’t really eating, wasn’t drinking, wasn’t doing what I needed to do to care for the one that I still had. Because to me, it just felt like I wasn’t pregnant anymore.”
Reflecting back on hearing both of her babies heartbeat’s for the first time, she added, “I saw both heartbeats on the screen, that was the pregnancy. It felt incomplete once the other one was gone.”
“There’s trauma within the celebration,” Nneka said. “But at the same time, we’ve been through this for so long and God has finally blessed us with this pregnancy, so we’re trying to be very optimistic here.”
The expectant mother shared that she’s more than half way through her pregnancy and the baby is “healthy and very strong.”
“I feel much more stable. After losing the twin, it’d be very easy to sit here every day like, ‘Is there a heartbeat? Is everything going to be okay?’ But I just have to have faith that’s not going to happen,” she continued.
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Nneka turned to IVF after trying intrauterine insemination (IUI) — artificial insemination — during Season 8 of “RHOP” in 2023.
“The first round of IUI, which I did on the show, did not work. And then I did a second round that also didn’t work,” she told the outlet.
“And I never wanted to do IVF, because for some reason in my head, It just seemed very unnatural. All those hormones and drugs … I was very cautious of it. But my doctor really encouraged me to try it, and I’m so grateful she did.”
The Bravo star explained she spent $36,000 on IVF.
Nneka and Ikenna, 40, have been married since August 2021.
The attorney made her “RHOP” debut during Season 8 and didn’t return for the Season 9.
English (US) ·