John Legend Defends His Wife’s Decision to Share Photos of Pregnancy Loss Due to Partial Placental Abruption

John Legend and Chrissy Teigen are parents to three beautiful children. They welcomed their first daughter, Luna Simon, in April 2016 and their first son, Miles Theodore, in May 2018. Most recently, they welcomed their second daughter, Esti Maxine, in January 2023, but not before a tragic heartbreak. 

The couple, who have been together since 2007 and married since 2013, were ready to welcome their third child in 2020 and were 20 weeks pregnant when she was induced to deliver the baby – who had no chance at survival, according to her doctor. The pregnancy loss was a result of partial placental abruption. 

At the time, she took to Instagram and posted a heartbreaking caption, explaining why they weren’t able to continue with the pregnancy, alongside several photos of her in the hospital following the loss – including a photo of her and her husband holding their 20-week-old son as they said their hello-goodbye. 

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“To our Jack – I’m so sorry that the first few moments of your life were met with so many complications, that we couldn’t give you the home you needed to survive.  We will always love you,” she wrote in the caption – adding that ‘everyday can’t be full of sunshine,’ with this being one of their ‘darkest days.’

While she received a lot of love and support, she also received a lot of criticism for posting the photos. And while John Legend has defended her decision to post the photos in the past, he’s once again defending his wife in a new interview with Alex Cooper on her popular Call Her Daddy podcast. 

He explained how sharing those details helped create ‘a sense of community’ around something that many people have never shared publicly. By doing so, he realized how common this type of pregnancy loss is and made others feel more comfortable about it – it made others feel like they weren’t alone. 

“When it started getting complicated and she had to be in bed rest and we were trying to save the pregnancy, she was sharing all that. So it would have been weird to not share the outcome, ‘cause then it’s just like the baby just disappeared and there’s no explanation,” he said in defense of her decision. 

John Legend Says He Felt Powerless as the Father

John Legend continued to open up about how the pregnancy loss made him feel, being the father and not being the one carrying the baby – while also commending his wife for the courage it took to share those details. He also expressed his deep gratitude for all the love and support they received through it all. 

“It’s hard because you feel – especially being the man in the relationship, not carrying the baby yourself – you feel this strong sense of grief but also this powerlessness, because you want to be there to protect, you want to be there to help, but you literally can’t do anything to really solve the core problem here,” he said.

He also opened up about how his household is doing since welcoming baby Esti in January. Legend called the experience ‘exciting’ and added that his older kids – Luna, 6, and Miles, 4 – are doing very well with their two-month-old sister. “It just fills the house up with more love,” he said of having another child. 

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He also said he and his wife are ‘more comfortable’ with themselves and how they parent their children, now that they’ve been around the block a few times. “So, dare I say, it’s easier,” he said – noting that it’s never easy raising a child, but they’ve found their groove and understand what to expect now.