‘Today’: NBC News Correspondent Kristen Welker Delivered Happy News on the Morning Show
This morning on Today, NBC News correspondent Kristen Welker and her husband John Hughes appeared on the morning show to deliver exceptionally happy news.
Welker, who is one of the network’s White House correspondents, had Today‘s hosts Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb, and Craig Melvin breaking out the tissues with her emotional announcement.
Welker’s joyful news
This morning on Today, Welker and her husband announced that they are anticipating their first child together in June. Welker became emotional as she opened up to the morning show’s co-hosts about the difficulty she and Hughes have had in conceiving, and their joy in awaiting their child’s arrival.
“After years and years of trying, I’m having a baby girl with John and we are so excited,” she said. “It’s with the help of a surrogate.”
Welker, who was named a Weekend Today co-anchor in 2020, revealed that she and Hughes had been attempting in vain to conceive a child since their marriage in 2017.
The couple tried in-vitro fertilization
The journalist, 44, shared that she and Hughes, a marketing executive, attempted to conceive through IVF.
“First round of IVF, it went really well and I thought, ‘I’m going to be pregnant within the next few months, no problem,’” Welker said.
She found out, however, that the lining of her uterus was not thick enough to carry a pregnancy.
“And I thought, ‘OK, well, let’s fix it. There has to be something that we can do to fix this,’” she added.
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The experience and grueling process left her feeling, she said, “like … a failure, frankly,” Welker shared. Her fellow White House correspondent Peter Alexander told the morning show that he could see his friend and colleague was going through a rough time.
“It was clear that there were days when she was getting bad news,” Alexander said. “She would just sort of break down.”
Welker’s open letter to her unborn daughter
On Twitter this morning, Welker posted her growing family’s joyous news: a surrogate is enabling them to realize their dream of having a child.
“After years of really tough infertility struggles, my husband, John, and I are so thrilled to share that, with the help of a surrogate, we will welcome a baby girl and become a family of three in June.”
Welker shared the tender letter she and Hughes penned for their soon-to-come infant. It reads in part, “Your daddy and I have learned so many lessons trying to bring you here and we want to share them with you: Every journey is unique; don’t compare yourself to others. There will be heartbreaks in life; some won’t ever fully heal, others will make you stronger. It is OK to ask for help; in fact, it can be empowering.”
The parents-to-be expressed their pride in and admiration for their surrogate, whom they called their “hero.”
“Our surrogate has been amazing. I can’t explain just how wonderful she’s been,” Hughes said. “For her this was about giving something to us that she felt a deep connection to.”
