Former White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany has spoken out for the first time about her bitter struggle to conceive her son.
The 35-year-old Fox News host said she and her husband, former New York Mets player Sean Gilmartin, had decided they wanted to have a second child in the summer of 2021 following the birth of their daughter Blake, who is now three. . years old.
The couple welcomed their second child, Nash, in December last year.
But it hasn’t been an easy road to pregnancy for the mom of two.
Trump-era press secretary Kayleigh McEnany has shared her bitter struggle to have her second child
The 35-year-old Fox News host shared that she and husband Sean Gilmartin, 32, had decided they wanted to have a second child in the summer of 2021.
“My first pregnancy went pretty quickly and we felt blessed that God had given us a beautiful daughter with relative ease. The second time was different,” Kayleigh wrote in an excerpt shared exclusively with DailyMail.com from her new book, Serenity in the Storm: Living Through Chaos by Leaning on Christ.
“A few months passed and there were plenty of negative pregnancy tests. As the spring of 2022 approached, part of me began to worry. Why didn’t I get pregnant? I tried to overcome the worries by leaning on faith.”
After reading Mark Batterson’s Draw The Circle: The 40 Day Prayer Challenge, given to her by a friend, Kayleigh said she “started praying with anticipation,” but it wasn’t easy for her.
“We tend to expect immediate results. That’s a natural human tendency, one that I certainly fall for in myself,’ she said.
“As I tried to pray expectantly, Satan did his best to infiltrate with worry, doubt, and frustration.”
Her frustration peaked one Saturday in March as she was about to give a speech at the 2022 Extraordinary Women Conference in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Kayleigh said she was “overwhelmed with worry” that she wouldn’t be able to conceive, when it seemed she was surrounded by friends announcing they were expecting.
But that frustration changed during the Christian conference as she listened to gospel singer Mandisa, prayers, and the music “reverberating through the building,” she said, and she turned her attention back to God.
Kayleigh pictured with Fox News hosts Ainsley Earhardt and Carley Shimkus
She said her daughter, Blake, was easily conceived compared to her second child, Nash (pictured with Kayleigh)
She said several months had passed and the pregnancy tests were “sufficiently” negative. Pictured on Fox News with her husband
Kayleigh served as the White House Press Secretary from April 2020 to January 2021
The Trump-era press secretary also spoke of the support of family, friends and people she had just met who were willing to help her through her time of struggle, including a moment with Kathy Sparks Lesnoff, the CEO of Mosaic Pregnancy and Health Centers – a group that provides pregnancy resources to women in need.
She was a speaker at one of the organization’s events in Collinsville, Illinois, about two weeks after she was in Tulsa.
The beautiful moment Kayleigh shared with Blake, she was going to be a big sister
“I shared my desire to have a second child with Kathy and her family, and without hesitation, Kathy asked if she could pray for me. I agreed, and right there at our dinner table, Kathy and I bowed our heads as she offered a heartfelt prayer to God to bless me with a child,” Kayleigh said.
“The last time I uttered such a prayer, God blessed the young woman with twins!” she shared with me at the end of our prayer. I smiled from ear to ear at the thought!’
When she returned home, Kayleigh and her husband, 32, also prayed together for a child, and “unbeknownst to her” her father’s Bible student did the same.
And three days later, Kayleigh said she “felt the urge” to take a pregnancy test.
‘I had already taken about five or six that month. They were all negative,” she wrote.
“Nevertheless, for some reason I felt the urge to have one that Tuesday morning, three days after our prayer. I suppose you could say that I took the test that morning with great anticipation.
She spoke of family, friends and strangers she had just met and prayed that she would conceive
Kayleigh also revealed the joyful moment when she broke the baby news to her husband, saying, “I put the two tests on the table, with two pink lines on each test.” He wrapped me in a big hug’
Kayleigh is pictured here with then-White House adviser and Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner in 2020
“A few minutes after I took the test, I saw a light pink double line, which indicated a pregnancy.
‘”Is this real?!” I wondered. I took a moment just in case, and sure enough, two solid pink lines!’
Kayleigh also revealed the joyful moment when she broke the baby news to her husband.
“With a knowing smile on my face, I found Sean in the office, working on his iPad, and I hurried over to the table next to him,” she said.
“I put the two keys on the table, with two pink lines on each key. He wrapped me in a big hug. Our journey with our second child had only just begun.
“For Sean and me, our worries about getting pregnant only lasted a few months. Plus, they came after we were blessed with our first child.
“For millions of women, the battle with pregnancy lasts much longer than a few months, and for some, pregnancy is just not possible, even though they pray with hopeful expectation and faith, as Sean and I did.
The mother of two announced the birth of her second child on Twitter in December last year
Kayleigh shared photos of baby boy Nash, adding that she and her husband, Sean Gilmartin, were ‘so excited to announce the birth of our son’
She also shared this photo of daughter Blake, three, with her brother
Kayleigh’s candid memoir, Serenity in the Storm: Living Through Chaos by Leaning on Christ, is out May 2
My heart breaks for these women, and I can imagine the struggle can be incomprehensible.
Why did God answer my prayers? I have no answer, for we will never fully know God’s mysteries here on earth.”
Last December, the Fox News host, Outnumbered co-host, announced Nash’s birth on Twitter.
The new mother of two wrote at the time, ‘@GilmartinSean and I are thrilled to announce the birth of our son Nash!
‘What a very nice time. God has blessed us immensely.”
She shared a photo of Nash snuggling up on a blue blanket, as well as a photo of Sean hugging their newborn, and finally a photo of daughter Blake, three, next to her brother.
Serenity in the Storm: Living Through Chaos by Leuning on Christ is out May 2.