The Canadian singer-songwriter announced her pregnancy Monday in an Instagram post, sharing a few black-and-white photos of the couple and Jepsen’s baby bump that hint there may be some kicking going on.
“Oh hi baby,” Jepsen, 39, wrote in the caption along with a heart emoji. Her 40-year-old husband, whose full name is Cole Marsden Greif-Neill, is feeling so much love and excitement that he has been rendered speechless, if the multiple heart-eyes emojis are any indication.
According to the couple’s wedding spread in Vogue, Jepsen and the Grammy Award-winning producer tied the knot in October, and the couple had been trying to get pregnant while planning their New York wedding. The musicians first met as colleagues in 2021 and started dating in 2022 before getting getting engaged in September of last year.
In 2023, Jepsen told People that their first collaboration, the song “So Right” from her album “The Loveliest Time,” was in essence the couple’s “meet-cute.”
“This is our first little baby out in the world,” Jepsen told the outlet at the time. “I think you’ll see a lot more of our collaboration together for future projects.”
Known for her earworm 2012 hit “Call Me Maybe,” Jepsen most recently celebrated the 10th anniversary of the release of “Emotion” with a sold-out show at the Troubadour, where she performed the entirety of the 2015 album.
“‘Emotion’ was like an introduction to my authentic version of what pop music was,” Jepsen said of the LP in 2020. “I was itching to share something different, because I knew that ‘Call Me Maybe’ wasn’t the only color of what I had to offer.”
THE Nineties might have been ruled by boybands and girl-bands, but life at the top of pop could be tough.
And it was probably worse for the girls, as putting on extra pounds, dating the wrong guy or, heaven forbid, having a baby were hugely frowned upon by management teams.
Sign up for the Showbiz newsletter
Thank you!
New BBC documentary Girlbands Forever delves into the girlband era, pictured the girls of All SaintsCredit: GettyAll Saints founding member Melanie Blatt informed managers that she and bandmate Nicole Appleton were pregnant, both were told to abort their babiesCredit: PA:Press Association
New BBC documentary Girlbands Forever, the follow-up to last year’s three-parter about boybands, delves into an era where record companies had less regard for duty of care, days off or mental health.
It features members of Atomic Kitten, Eternal, Sugababes, Mis-teeq and Little Mix, providing insight into what it was like being in an all-female group in the Nineties and early Noughties.
The dream was to replicate the success of the Spice Girls, the all-conquering icons who sparked the girlband explosion.
And record labels invested millions in a bid to find the next big thing.
But as the Spice Girls’ rivals All Saints found out, the pressure became unbearable.
So much so that when founding member Melanie Blatt informed managers that she and bandmate Nicole Appleton were pregnant, both were told to abort their babies.
The reason? They had just cracked America with No1 hit Never Ever and momentum could be lost.
Melanie, 50, explains: “I hadn’t been with my partner for very long, it was definitely a bit of a surprise It wasn’t people congratulating us. It was more like this look of dread and worry and the realisation that things are going to change.
“We flew to LA and at [airport] LAX our manager, he was behind us, was telling us to abort our babies.”
She added that her bosses told them they were “going to ruin everything” and “it was the end of the band”.
Melanie ended up having her baby with her partner, Stuart Zender, the bassist for band Jamiroquai.
‘Vomiting in toilets’
But Nicole, who fell pregnant with then boyfriend Robbie Williams, did not, which Melanie admits caused issues with their relationship.
She explains: “Nic and I had been best friends since we were 11. We took pregnancy tests in a hotel in Canada and spent that whole night discussing bringing our kids up together. It was one of the best nights ever.
“And it’s not really my place to talk about it, but unfortunately . . . it was a very uncomfortable situation because I kept mine, she didn’t. That was a really tricky part of my and our existence.”
All Saints, which consisted of Melanie, sisters Nicole and Natalie and main songwriter Shaznay Lewis, were always deemed a “cool version” of the Spice Girls and were far more rock ‘n’ roll.
Star Melanie opens up more on BBC show Girlbands ForeverCredit: SuppliedAll Saints’ Nicole Appleton with then-boyfriend Robbie Williams in 2004Credit: Michael Melia
Whereas Victoria Beckham, Emma Bunton and Mel B found love with a footballer, an R&B singer and a dancer respectively, the All Saints girls dated rock stars, with Nicole marrying and having a son with Liam Gallagher.
Melanie says: “We were turning up to kids’ TV shows on a Saturday morning without having one wink of sleep. We looked fine, just a bit of vomiting in the toilets prior to CD:UK.”
After two albums, All Saints split in 2001, a disparity in earnings between Shaznay and the rest of the band being a major factor.
By the end of their existence as a group, Melanie says they “hated each other”.
She adds: “We’d fallen out, it was hell, it was ‘separate’ everything.
“It was just ridiculous but literally one of the proudest moments of being in that band was calling it quits because we didn’t stay for the money. We wanted to be done, we didn’t want to be with each other any more and we made that decision.
“We were in control. We were supposed to go on tour and we gave the money back and I’m so proud of that. That’s one of the only decisions we were all happy to make together, telling each other to f*** off.”
Girlbands Forever begins on Saturday at 9.20pm on BBC Two.
Little Mix
Little Mix were one of the first girl groups forced to contend with social mediaCredit: Neil HallBand member Perrie Edwards bore the brunt of online abuse due to her relationship with Zayn MalikCredit: Supplied
AS girlbands moved into the 2010s, life did not get any easier, with social media now to contend with.
She explains: “Social media was dark, especially back in the day.
“Me and the girls used to get a lot of stick. Things we would wear or how we would look, people would pick us apart.
“You’re hurting enough as it is, never mind everybody having an opinion on it. Everyone wants to know your business and everyone feels like they have ownership in that.
“You can’t escape it. So you may as well sing about it.”
Life in girlbands was relentless, so Little Mix lasting ten years was a monumental achievement.
But Perrie, below, admits she almost quit when she was at her lowest ebb ahead of a gig in Las Vegas.
She says: “I didn’t want to go, I was so exhausted. I tried getting out of the trip and when I got there, I started experiencing panic attacks.
“I didn’t know what was happening at the time, I’d never experienced a panic attack.
“I ended up in a hospital. I didn’t want to let the girls down. They had to do it without me and I hated it and I really resented myself for it.”
She adds: “When you’re in a group dynamic, even though you’re going through stuff individually, you can’t just be selfish so I kind of put a brave face on a lot of time.
“I didn’t want to let the team down.”
Eternal
Eternal had a No1 smash hit with I Wanna Be The Only One in 1997Credit: Rex‘People were always voicing concerns about my weight and about our weight as a band’, says founding member Kelle BryanCredit: Supplied
ETERNAL had a No1 smash hit with I Wanna Be The Only One in 1997, but their looks soon became a concern.
Founding member Kelle Bryan, 50, reveals: “People were always voicing concerns about my weight and about our weight as a band. Stylists would come along and say, ‘This doesn’t fit you, this doesn’t fit you’.
“We’re talking about an era where being a size zero was popular, so they sent us away to this place in the countryside where they were able to control what we ate.”
Atomic Kitten
Atomic Kitten’s Kerry Katona fell for Westlife singer Brian McFadden, but was ordered not to date him by managementCredit: Dave HoganKerry also had an unpleasant interaction with music mogul Louis WalshCredit: Supplied
WHILE on the 1999 Smash Hits Tour, Atomic Kitten’s Kerry Katona fell for Westlife singer Brian McFadden, but was ordered not to date him by management.
Kerry, 45, says: “They all went absolutely f*ing apes**t. I remember [Westlife manager] Louis Walsh saying, ‘I don’t like you, you’re trouble’.
Bandmate and best pal Natasha Hamilton, 43, adds: “It was definitely bad for the brand. Not from my point of view but from the label and management. They said girls can’t be seen with one of the boys in the biggest boyband in the UK because fan jealousy is a thing.”
Mis-Teeq
Mis-Teeq felt they were discriminated against and given fewer opportunitiesCredit: Alamy‘We weren’t invited to the same premieres. Some magazines wouldn’t consider us for the cover because they didn’t think three black girls would sell’, says Su-Elise NashCredit: Supplied
BEING an all-black group who rose up from the “underground scene” in 1999, Mis-Teeq felt they were discriminated against and given fewer opportunities.
Su-Elise Nash, 44, says: “We weren’t invited to the same premieres. Some magazines wouldn’t consider us for the cover because they didn’t think three black girls would sell.
“Our struggle to get there was definitely not as easy as it would have been if we had one white member or we’d all-white.”
Sugababes
When Sugababes founding member Mutya Buena gave birth to her first child aged 19, there was no let-upCredit: Dave HoganMutya quit the group in 2005 and was later diagnosed with post-natal depressionCredit: Getty
WHEN Sugababes founding member Mutya Buena gave birth to her first child aged 19 – while the band were working on their fourth album – there was no let-up.
Record label exec Darcus Beese says: “I remember standing in my kitchen trying to talk her down. I had no concept of post-natal depression. I would ask questions now like, ‘How’s your mental health?’.”
Chelsea Clinton is already running for a second term — as a mom!
“Next summer, Charlotte is going to be a big sister! Feeling very blessed & grateful this holiday season,” the former first daughter said Monday on Twitter. She and husband Marc Mezvinsky had their first child, Charlotte Clinton Mezvinsky, in late September 2014.
The announcement featured a picture of Charlotte eyeballing a book titled “Big Sisters Are the Best.” (Perhaps the little one’s next read will be her mom’s book “It’s Your World: Get Informed, Get Inspired & Get Going”? OK, we’ll give her some time …)
Grandparents Bill and Hillary Clinton were quick to jump in with official congratulations.
Follow Christie D’Zurilla on Twitter @theCDZ and Google+. Follow the Ministry of Gossip on Twitter @LATcelebs.
Follow Christie D’Zurilla on Twitter @theCDZ and Google+. Follow the Ministry of Gossip on Twitter @LATcelebs.
BATON ROUGE, La. — Women taken into custody by U.S. immigration agents while pregnant say they received inadequate care in a letter Wednesday that calls on the Trump administration to stop holding expectant mothers in federal detention facilities.
The letter to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is part of a broader campaign in recent months by Democrats and immigrant rights groups to draw attention to what they say is the mistreatment of pregnant detainees.
The Department of Homeland Security has defended its care, saying pregnant detainees get regular prenatal visits, mental health services, nutritional support and accommodations “aligned with community standards of care.”
In addition, Homeland Security Department spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a written statement Wednesday that such detentions are “rare” and involve “elevated oversight and review.” The agency didn’t provide figures on the number of pregnant women in detention, a number Democrats have sought for months.
The letter sent by the American Civil Liberties Union cites accounts from pregnant women who say they were shackled while being transported, placed in solitary confinement for multiple days and given insufficient food and water while detained in Louisiana and Georgia.
The ACLU said that over the last five months it has met with more than a dozen females who were pregnant while in ICE custody — including some who had a miscarriage while detained. The women reported “gravely troubling experiences,” the letter states, including lack of translation during medical encounters and medical neglect. One suffered a “severe” infection after her miscarriage.
In an interview with the Associated Press, one of the women said she was kept in handcuffs while being transported to Louisiana — a journey that lasted five hours and spanned two plane rides. The woman, who has since been released from custody and given birth, spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of facing retaliation during her ongoing case.
An officer told her he considered taking off the handcuffs but worried she would escape. “How am I going to escape if I’m pregnant?” the woman said she responded.
She said she felt as if she’d been kidnapped and experienced dizziness, nausea and vaginal bleeding. During her time in detention, she said pregnant women were not offered special diets and described the food as horrible. She alleged that detainees had to “beg” for water and toilet paper.
The ACLU’s letter is the latest call for an investigation into the arrests and treatment of pregnant detainees.
Senate Democrats wrote Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in September, expressing concerns about the “prevalence and treatment” of pregnant, postpartum and nursing women in ICE custody. They demanded that the agency stop detaining such people unless there are “exceptional circumstances.”
“Proper care for pregnancy is a basic human right, regardless of whether you are incarcerated or not and regardless of your immigration status,” said Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, a California Democrat. She signed on to a Democratic Women’s Caucus letter to Homeland Security officials in July sharing concerns about the “treatment of women” and demanding answers — including how many have given birth while detained.
Kamlager-Dove said she’s working on legislation that would “severely restrict the use of restraints on pregnant, laboring and postpartum women who are in federal custody.”
ICE guidelines already say that agents “should not detain, arrest, or take into custody for an administrative violation of the immigration laws” people “known to be pregnant, postpartum or nursing,” based on a policy sent to the AP by Homeland Security. But the document does state that such people may be detained and held in custody under “exceptional circumstances” or if their release is prohibited by law.
The policy also prohibits using restraints on pregnant detainees, but here too there are exceptions — including if there is a serious threat that the detainee will hurt herself or others, or if “an immediate and credible risk” of escape cannot be “reasonably minimized” through other methods.
Cline and Gonzalez write for the Associated Press. Gonzalez reported from McAllen, Texas.
