Chrissy Teigen is an American model, television personality, and author, but she is perhaps best known for her social media prowess.
Teigen freely engages with her millions of followers on Twitter and Instagram. Some might even say she tends to overshare events in her personal life, including the latest on her two children, Luna and Miles, and her husband, the Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony award-winning multi-hyphenate artist, John Legend.
On Wednesday, the couple shared one of the most intimate moments that no family would wish to experience: They announced on social media that Teigen suffered a miscarriage and they lost their unborn son Jack due to complications.
When I read her post Thursday morning, I stopped what I was doing and sent a silent prayer for her and her family.
Before the birth of my daughter, I experienced a first-trimester miscarriage. I felt guilt, shame, anger, and I questioned my actions. I wondered, “Why me?”
I did not reach out to family and friends for support after I informed them because I was embarrassed and thought I was the only one in my family or social network who had suffered such a loss.
I spent hours combing the internet seeking solace in blog posts from other women who were “like me.” It took me a few months to escape the fog of sadness that would overwhelm me at the most inopportune times. I did not reach out for professional help. I wish I had. But it never occurred to me, and frankly, I did not want to talk about it because I felt like something was wrong with me.
While still seeking answers to the reason why, during my internet searches, I discovered that as many as half of all pregnancies may end in miscarriage and many women are able to have healthy pregnancies later. I did.
I discovered that, when I talked about my loss with other women, I was not the only person who had experienced a miscarriage. They didn’t share the information because, like me, they felt like they were at fault.
I applaud Chrissy Teigen for her fearlessness and openness, and I hope her simple act of “oversharing” will help other women and their families heal with the knowledge that they are not alone.
Everyone deals with loss differently; talking to a licensed professional can help. The California Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) licenses professionals through the Board of Behavioral Sciences and the Board of Psychology. You can verify a license by using DCA’s license search tool.
