When we last spoke with Bekah Martinez, she decided to put her budding romance above margaritas and Chris Harrison catch-ups and forgo appearing on Bachelor in Paradise. Now, in an exclusive interview with PureWow, the Bachelor fan favorite is revealing a piece of news even more mind-blowing than the Arie-Lauren-Becca fiasco: She’s pregnant.
EXCLUSIVE: ‘Bachelor’ Star Bekah Martinez Reveals She’s Pregnant
Published Sep 12, 2018
•12:50pm
Jordan Zobrist @Jzobphoto
Martinez has now been dating live-in boyfriend Grayston Leonard for seven months, but it was only three months into their relationship that the 23-year-old discovered she was expecting. It wasn’t planned and at first the news came as an utter shock to the couple. “I was in disbelief and thought, ‘Is this really happening?’” Martinez remembered. “I immediately called Grayston and then went across the street to the Dollar Tree and bought two more pregnancy tests. They, of course, were both positive.”
At first, Leonard was unsure about whether he was ready to be a father, but for Martinez it was “legitimately a dream come true.” As she explained, “It’s the one thing that I’ve known with certainty for so long. I’ve gone back and forth on the idea of marriage and relationships, but I’ve always felt sure that I want to be a mom.”
She remembers the moment their new normal officially set in, which (ironically) happened to be Father’s Day. “I was crying (happy tears) and said, ‘You’re going to be a dad!’ We hugged, and it was the first time we really got to be overjoyed. We were finally able to celebrate and soak up all of that emotion,” the expectant mom said.
Still, they chose to keep the pregnancy to themselves. As Martinez explained, “I wanted time to process it between Gray and I and our family without all of the exterior noise chiming in.”
And although Martinez could have kept the unplanned aspect of her pregnancy private, it was never something that crossed her mind: “I wanted to share this experience with other women who have been in a similar situation or might be in the future, so they know they’re not alone.”
Due at the end of January 2019, Martinez is now 20 weeks along and happy to have the first trimester behind her. “It’s going by so fast! I’m feeling super energized,” she said. “I’ve been able to do a lot of activities that I normally do, like hiking, backpacking and a little bit of climbing. It feels really good because the first trimester was a little rough.”
So rough, in fact, that she found it hard to climb stairs. Martinez remembered, “It would be a huge exertion of energy for me to even go upstairs. I’d get some headaches and a little bit of nausea here and there. But, honestly, it’s been pretty easygoing.”
But there was one moment specifically that made every unpleasant side effect of pregnancy worth it: hearing their child’s heartbeat for the first time. Martinez remembered the experience, saying, “It still feels so surreal but it was this tangible way of knowing I’m going to have a son or daughter and everything is about to change in a good way.”
And as Martinez and Leonard prepare for parenthood, the Bachelor Nation alum says her beau is already off to a running start. “He immediately started researching prenatal vitamins and then presented me with the top four options to choose from,” she shared. “He’s been really into finding resources and reading books about pregnancy. He stepped up to the plate and it just makes me feel that much better about starting this new chapter in my life with him.” It also helps that Martinez calls him the kind of guy that gives her back massages and cooks homemade meals on the reg.
Exciting as this may be, there’s no denying this life-altering news has tested their still-developing relationship in unexpected ways. For the most part, she says the pregnancy brought them closer together because they’ve had to expedite the process of getting to know each other. Overall, it’s an experience that has also made the couple more frank about their expectations for the future.
For one, Martinez isn’t considering marriage with Leonard at the moment. “It’s a horrible idea for us to consider with all of the hormones and the stress we’re experiencing,” she said. “The last thing we need is to consider another commitment on top of what we’re already going through…Regardless, we’re bound together by sharing this little life.”
She went on to explain that for now they’re taking their relationship and new familial bond one day at a time.
JORDAN ZOBRIST @JZOBPHOTO
Even with all of the uncertainty surrounding her relationship and life as a mother, Martinez is grateful she opted out of Paradise. As she explained, “I think pregnancy is better than Bachelor in Paradise. Although I’m probably equally as sweaty, exhausted, nauseous, stressed out and emotional, at least I don’t have to worry about finding a man. I already have that one covered.” Amen.
Marriage or not, Martinez and Leonard are sure of a few things: They’re waiting to learn the gender of their baby and hope to choose a “baby name outside of the Bachelor world.” But that doesn’t mean the close friends Martinez made through her journey on the series won’t be along for the ride. The expectant mom definitely plans to include Bachelor cast girlfriends in all the pre-baby fun. However, Martinez says her days in the Bachelor franchise are definitely over.
As for baby Martinez-Leonard? The verdict’s still out on whether the couple’s little dude or dudette will enter the spotlight via their Instagram accounts (she says yes; he says no thanks). Regardless, both parents agree that they’d prefer if their kid stayed off of reality TV.
Martinez summed it up by saying, “I don’t really want my child to get reported missing on a weed farm.”
We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.
