Monique Samuels loves the fact that she’s pregnant but admits that her past experience with miscarriage still has its sting.
“It kind of haunts you,” the Real Housewives of Potomac star reveals to PEOPLE. “The first times I was pregnant, it came so easily. I took that for granted,” Samuels admits. “Now that I’m pregnant again, it’s almost like I second guess everything that I’m doing. Even with movement. I’m making sure I’m not moving too fast so I stretch my stomach. It’s something I didn’t think about with my first two pregnancies.”
Monique Samuels announced her and husband Chris Samuels family expansion last December. The couple’s expectancy came months after they endured a heartbreaking miscarriage.
“When I first shared my story, I didn’t even realize how many people had experienced miscarriages before,” Monique says of the public’s reaction to her revealing that she and Chris had lost their unborn child. “It was amazing to have that support and to realize that I wasn’t alone,” she adds. “And to show so many of these women too that they can get through this.”
The Samuels’ current pregnancy has been faced with its share of challenges. It was just a few weeks ago that doctors told Monique that had two tears in her placenta that could progress and lead to miscarriage if not addressed.
“It was very scary,” the reality star admits. “It just put more stress on the table. I was a week further along than I was in my last pregnancy. I thought I was past all that. Like, ‘Oh God, I don’t want [this] to happen again.'”
The doctor prescribed lots of rest and relaxation to Monique, which was no easy feat for the expectant star. “I could not do anything at all,” she says. “[The doctor] told me, ‘You just need to lay around.’ And that was hard because I’m such a busybody, I like to stay active. But I did what I was told.”
Monique and Chris Samuels’ little one will join their son, Christopher, and daughter, Milani, at home. Stay tuned for more celebrity pregnancy news!
Photo: PEOPLE
