Kennedy Anderson, Kontent & Co
Edna Swart assumed it would probably take years – and possibly a gruelling IVF journey – for her and husband Reid Stephen to have a baby together. So it was a shock, 18 months after their show-stopping wedding, for the Celebrity Treasure Island star to discover that not only was she pregnant, but she’d also sailed through the entire first trimester completely oblivious to her impending arrival!
“Because of my polycystic ovary syndrome [PCOS], I always thought I’d struggle to get pregnant,” admits Edna. “I’ve actually talked to Reid about what he would do if I couldn’t have a baby. It’s always been an insecurity of mine.
Here’s the proof! The couple can’t wait to meet their baby.
However, after the pair had enjoyed a dreamy five-week road trip around the States, Edna thought she’d better do a pregnancy test since she hadn’t had a period in three months.
“Not having a period for that long isn’t uncommon for me because of the PCOS, so I hadn’t really given it much thought,” she explains. “Then when it was positive, I just didn’t believe it. I bought up 10 different types of tests and peed on all the sticks just to be sure!”
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Edna’s doctor confirmed that she was indeed pregnant, which initially caused some confusion for the couple.
“We were both like, ‘How?!'” laughs Edna, 33. “I’d hadn’t seen Reid for two weeks and prior to that, we were on an overseas holiday with our family. There’s only so much sexy time you can have with family members around!”
When she had an ultrasound, the mystery was solved. “The doctor told us we were already 14 weeks pregnant,” marvels Edna. “Then when we counted back to the end of July, I remembered we’d settled on our new home on 29 July. We sat on the ground of our new house with a bottle of Cristal and Uber Eats McDonald’s – it was the most bougie, un-bougie celebration ever!
“That night, we christened the house and I had my legs up in the air because I didn’t want to ruin the carpet. Apparently, girl sperm can hang around for three days, so I think we got a new house and a new baby in the same night!”
Reid, 28, gently reminds his wife that they don’t actually know that they’re having a baby girl. “Oh, right,” smiles Edna. “I’m hopeful it’s a girl! I keep saying ‘she’, but we haven’t had the test yet.
“The gorgeous former BossBabes star is clearly fizzing with excitement about the news. “We just feel so incredibly lucky,” she shares. “We’re not going through what a lot of couples go through trying to get pregnant. I also missed the time where you’re at high risk of a miscarriage and I didn’t have to keep the pregnancy a secret, which is amazing because I’m the worst at keeping a secret!”
Nodding in agreement, Christchurch-born Reid, who is an area manager at Hirepool, adds, “I had four days to process the news before everyone knew!”
Since she’d already been pregnant for three months without realising, Edna is grateful she’s not really a drinker.
“When the doctor asked, ‘Do you smoke? Do you drink? Do you do hard drugs?’ I was able to say, ‘No, no, no,’ which was a relief,” she tells. “The worst thing I’ve done is ride on a motorcycle with no helmet and there was probably some sushi in there. When they said the baby was healthy, I was like, ‘Yass!'”
Baby on board!
Reid adds, “It’s crazy to think we did Route 66 on the back of some Harley Davidsons and our little baby’s already travelled halfway across the States with us.”
Their families are surprised but delighted, says Edna.
“Both my brothers have children and here I am hitting my mid-thirties. I think they kind of got to the point where they were like, ‘She might not ever have a baby.’ When I told them, they were stoked but also shocked.”
Reid’s mum and sister instantly burst into tears upon hearing the news, he says. “They’re super-happy for us. Then the old boy was like, ‘Oh, cool, you’ll be a good dad.'”
But there was a bittersweet moment for Edna, who lost her mother Sandra 17 years ago.
“I did wonder how my mum would have reacted,” she muses. “It’s something she would have always wanted for her daughter. But time heals – I’m just celebrating that now there’s a new life coming, and we’ve got the most amazing friends and family around us.”
Edna’s dad Morkel and his wife Sandra adopted her as a baby in South Africa, before migrating to New Zealand. After Sandra’s death, it was Morkel who encouraged Edna to reach out to her birth mother, Carien Lewis, who still lives in South Africa.
It’s a relationship that Edna now treasures.
“Carien is going to be so involved!” smiles Edna. “She never had a baby again after me. She’s so excited, so I’m really blessed in that sense.
I’ll give it a month, then she’ll probably come to stay with us for a couple of months.”
After the purchase of their four-bedroom home on Auckland’s North Shore, the couple will have plenty of room for visitors. But Edna tells, “I do still want to enjoy this time with Reid and I living in our first home together, enjoying the swimming pool and the summer. Around February or March next year, we’ll start designing the nursery and go into the nesting phase.”
Reid laughs, “Edna’s so impatient and so organised, she’ll have the whole room done in three weeks!”
Edna and Reid in New Mexico, oblivious they were expecting.
As the CEO of skincare company Ed&I, Edna’s working out how she’s going to manage her job and motherhood when the baby arrives in six months.
“When you own your own business, you can’t just go, ‘I’m taking a year off and going on maternity leave.’ I’ll probably take the first month off because I do have a team around me, but I’ll be back on the tools pretty quickly. I’ll try to find someone to help with the admin of the house, so I can continue looking after baby while working and not have everything else pile up.”
However, as Edna’s already godmother to two children, she’s well aware that babies can throw even the best-laid plans into chaos.
“That’s why I’ve been so patient,” laughs Edna. “A lot of women love the idea of becoming a mum and having a child, which I totally get. But I’m also a realist. I’ve taken my time to be in a really good position to have a baby. For me, this happened at the perfect time.”
