RHOP's Nneka Ihim is pregnant after losing 1 twin in utero after IVF

Aunt Ihim is pregnant with her and her husband Dr. Ikenna Ihimfirst baby, but it's a 'bittersweet' celebration.

The Real Housewives of Potomac The 37-year-old star announced her pregnancy on Wednesday, January 22, revealing that she is due in May. While Nneka was telling People she has “always wanted to be a mom”, her road to a successful pregnancy was not easy.

Nneka explained that after trying to get pregnant two years, including three rounds of in vitro fertilization (IVF), she found out she was carrying twins.

The Bravo star had two embryos implanted at the same time, a boy and a girl, but during the eight-week check-up, Nneka was told she lost one of the babies.

“We got to the appointment and one of the twins had no heartbeat,” Nneka recalled. “So it was really, really hard. I think the second I walked out of my doctor's office, I burst into tears.

The next four days were the hardest, Nneka explained, noting that she “felt incomplete” when she was no longer carrying the twins.

“There's trauma in the celebration,” she admitted. “But at the same time, we've been going through this for so long and God has finally blessed us with this pregnancy, so we're trying to be very optimistic.”

Related: Stars who struggled to conceive share their fertility issues

For many celebrity parents, including Chrissy Teigen and John Legend, it's been a tough road to parenthood. After IVF failed on the first try, Teigen wondered if she had done something wrong. “You're just looking for everything to blame, especially yourself,” Teigen explained to New York Magazine's The Cut in April (…)

More than halfway through her pregnancy, Nneka said she feels “more stable” and her baby is “very healthy and very strong,” according to her doctors.

Nneka made him RHOP debut 8 during the season in 2023. From the beginning, she took fans on her fertility journey, which included two rounds of intrauterine insemination (IUI) before she turned to IVF. (She left the Bravo show after one season.)

The ups and downs led to Nneka and her husband, whom she married in August 2021, consider surrogacy and additional options. In September 2024, the couple decided to try IVF one more time with “zero expectations” and it was successful.

“I was really nervous up until that point, but at the time I just didn't put any pressure on myself,” Nneka recalled. People. “I was in a very calm frame of mind; much more carefree. I even went to Paris with my friends. And the next thing I knew, I found out the good news: I was pregnant.

Related: 'RHOP' Alum Candy Dillard Bassett is pregnant with her first child

Brian Stucks/Getty Images Real Housewives of Potomac's Candice Dillard Bassett is pregnant and expecting her first child with husband Chris Bassett. “I'm about 13 weeks along…so almost in my second trimester. It's been weird, but also really wonderful, I think, keeping it to myself until now,” Dillard Bassett (…)

Although still dealing with the loss of one pregnancy, Nneka said she has an “incredible” support system in Ikenna, 40, and is ready to become a parent.

“He's so excited. He can't wait for this baby to come,” she said of her husband. “It's a dream come true for both of us.”

Nneka revealed: “I still have to pinch myself sometimes, it's so surreal and shocking.” She added that even the fun stuff doesn't feel real. “Even now I'm trying to plan my baby shower and I'm just like, 'Wow, this is really happening to me,'” she said.