- Ron DeSantis shared how he and his wife prayed “a lot” for a family and was thrilled to become pregnant after a trip to Israel
- But the pregnancy ended in loss and a ‘tough’ time for the couple
- They “kept the faith” and had their first daughter Madison, followed by son Mason and third child Mamie
Ron DeSantis has revealed that his wife Casey suffered a heartbreaking miscarriage while trying to have their first child.
The couple, who have been together for 13 years, share three children: Madison, seven, Mason, five, and Mamie, three.
The Florida governor told how he and his wife visited Israel while he was a U.S. congressman, where they prayed “a lot” at various pilgrimage sites for help conceiving.
They became pregnant after returning to the US, but lost the baby a short time later, something the governor described as “tough.”
“Unfortunately, we lost the first baby,” DeSantis said. “It was hard because this was something we had so much hope for, so much ambition.”
Ron DeSantis revealed that he and his wife Casey suffered a devastating miscarriage before having their first child
Florida’s governor said the miscarriage was ‘tough’ for the couple because they had ‘so much hope and so many ambitions’
The presidential hopeful explained that the couple visited several religious places before the first conception.
“We literally went to Shiloh with Hannah’s Prayer. We went to Ruth’s grave in Hebron, Ruth chapter four, verse 13, and we prayed. We prayed a lot to start a family,” he added.
Unfortunately, the pregnancy was lost and the couple struggled to come to terms with the loss.
“We just kept believing, we just kept praying. We knew there would be a path that God would lead us on,” he explained.
“And lo and behold, a short time later we did it and had our first baby girl.”
DeSantis’ wife gave birth to their eldest child, Madison, in 2016, with the “happy and healthy” baby weighing 8 pounds, according to a proud post from DeSantis on Facebook at the time.
His comments came as he spoke at the Family Leader Foundation’s Thanksgiving Family Forum.
The couple went on a pilgrimage to Israel, where they visited religious sites and prayed ‘a lot’ to start a family
DeSantis is a father to Madison, seven, Mason, five, and Mamie, three. Madison was conceived “a short time” after the miscarriage
The couple tied the knot at Walt Disney World in 2009, an ironic choice given his later feud with the entertainment company after it weighed against his “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
He and his wife tied the knot at Walt Disney World in 2009, an ironic location given his very public feud with the media conglomerate over public backlash against its “don’t say gay” school censorship laws.
DeSantis’ press team has previously confirmed that he and his family are practicing Catholics, but he has been fairly reserved about his religious beliefs.
Instead, his presidential bid has sought to appeal to the powerful evangelical voting bloc within the Republican Party.
Despite winning a landslide election in his state two years ago, DeSantis has struggled to gain support for his presidential bid.
Meanwhile, the governor’s approval ratings have also fallen, with 41 percent of Floridians saying they “strongly disapprove” of the way he is doing his job, according to a Florida Atlantic University poll.
The decline was equivalent to about four percentage points in as many months, Politics reports.
However, he received a boost in fellow candidate Nikki Haley’s home state after receiving 10 endorsements in South Carolina from former supporters of the presidential campaign of Senator Tim Scott, who unexpectedly withdrew from the race last week.