Getty Jen Lilley in 2019.
Hallmark star Jen Lilley announced that she’s pregnant. She and her husband, Jason Wayne, couldn’t be more excited about the surprise news. She’s due in May 2022. In late November, she followed up by announcing if she’s having a boy or a girl.
This Will Be Her Fourth Child
In an interview with People, Lilley said that their new baby was a surprise. They adopted half-brothers Kayden, 5, and Jeffrey, 3, from foster care. They also have a daughter, Julie, who was born in 2019. Lilley said that while Julie was planned, their new baby was a big surprise.
Lilley, 37, told People: “I felt very pregnant and I thought, ‘This is very weird.’ I was excited, but also it was so strange. I was in this long customs line in Canada waiting for my work permit, and I’m texting my husband and our nanny via group text, ‘I think I’m pregnant right now?'”
She said her pregnancy test first came back negative, but she didn’t believe it. Her second test came back positive and a doctor later confirmed the pregnancy.
“I waited until I was back [from filming] and had a doctor’s appointment to verify it because I just kept thinking, ‘I need a blood test,'” she said.
She said her pregnancy has also been a great way to talk to her sons more about how their adoptions worked.
She’s Having a Girl
On November 28, Lilley shared on social media that she’s having a baby girl.
Lilley wrote: “It’s a girl !!! According to Jason, we’re 87% committed to a name I was pretty sure was 99% 😂 so comment name suggestions below.”
Lacey Chabert, Danica McKellar, and others chimed in to congratulate her on the good news.
Someone wrote, “I’m new here. Congratulations and who is that other guy in the picture?” Lilley said that was her little brother.
People also chimed in with baby name ideas, like Janice, Joy, Mary, and Noel.
For Her Last Pregnancy, She Went Into Labor on the Red Carpet
In 2019, Lilley was on the red carpet when she went into labor. During an interview with Access, she revealed that she was in labor right at that moment.
“I’m literally in labor…” she told the reporter. “I’m early… I gotta get to my phone at some point to time the contractions, but I’m closer to Cedars than if I was at home. I’m not that close. I can still talk.”
She then joked that she might give birth right there tonight and her daughter would definitely “still the show.”
She told People that because her contractions were inconsistent, she didn’t want to miss the TCA event.
“Our poor driver was absolutely panicked when I told him I might be in labor,” she told People. “But I told him not to worry if he does end up taking us down the road to Cedars [hospital] at the end of the night.”
Ashley Williams, who is a doula, was at the event and helped Lilley, People reported. She said Lilley was relaxed and calm the whole time. The excitement of the event had sped up her contractions, but they slowed down later and Lilley ended up going home that night and not to the hospital after all.
Lilley is starring in a Christmas movie this year on the GAC Family network, which was founded by the former Hallmark CEO Bill Abbott. The movie is called “Royally Wrapped for Christmas.” The synopsis reads: “Lindsay Palmer, the NY director of an international charity organization, finds true love with a prince.”
She’s starring with Brendan Fehr and the movie premieres on November 27. You can learn more about how to watch the movie on TV in Heavy’s story here.
READ NEXT: Hallmark’s Christmas 2021 Lineup of Movies