Former Bachelorette Emily Maynard Johnson on Being a ‘Professional Pregnant Person’

Former Bachelorette and now glowing mother of two—soon to be three—Emily Maynard Johnson gets candid about her not-so-glamorous pregnancy and struggle with morning sickness.

“Well the first two were not pretty, I’ll be honest,” she jokingly divulged about being with child. In fact, over half of all pregnant women struggle with some degree of morning sickness, with conditions ranging from mild to extremely severe, which was the case for Maynard.

“Even though I was obviously really excited and felt very blessed to be pregnant,” she told Parade.com, “It was hard. I was sick all day with no energy.”

After going to her doctor for much needed help, Emily is feeling better than ever with her third bun in the oven. “I associated being pregnant with feeling terrible. And, that doesn’t have to be the case,” she noted.

In honor of National Bump Day on August 3—a day devoted to celebrating the beauty of pregnancy—Parade.com chatted with Emily on overcoming her morning sickness, finding love after The Bachelorette and basking in the glory that is motherhood and God’s grace.

What was pregnancy like for you?

I just felt really rotten the entire time. Everybody said, “Just wait until you’re out of your first trimester, and you’ll feel better!” I just never did. I was sick until the night before I went in to have Jennings, my son. I’d see my girlfriends who just had that pregnancy glow everybody talked about, and if I didn’t have my makeup and highlighter on, I did not have that glow [laughs]. In this [current] pregnancy, I just feel like I have that same joy that my friends had. I had tried everything for my morning sickness—diet, acupuncture, pretty much everything you can imagine. I just hit a wall where I was like, “I can’t do this anymore.” I went to a doctor and said, “We have to do something.” He prescribed me Diclegis, and it helped me tremendously.

Many women stay quiet about morning sickness and believe it’s just something to endure, when there is actually a lot you can do to help it.

Yeah! I really had no idea how many people suffered from it until I went on Twitter. If I hit a wall, where else would I turn besides Twitter? [laughs]. The response I got back was crazy—how many women suffer from it, and whether it’s just feeling a little rotten in the morning, to like what I had, which is more severe and feeling sick all day and actually getting sick all day. I’ve learned that neither one is great, but you don’t have to suffer.

What other pregnancy tips can you offer?

I feel like am a professional pregnant person at this point, because I’ve been pregnant for a long time. But, I’m still trying to figure it out. Some days are great, some days are not so great. Some days I have a lot of energy, some days I’m exhausted. So, I’m still trying to figure it out. But, my biggest advice would be to just talk to your doctor.

You currently have a daughter and a son. What are they like?

My daughter Ricki is 11. She is the best big sister ever. Nobody can make Jennings, my son, laugh as much as she does. She loves it. My son Jennings is so much fun, and just getting to see every little development stage and all that has been really fun for the whole family to watch. He’s starting to learn to walk and things like that. I’m excited to start it all over again with the third!

When is your due date?

September. Don’t remind me! I need to get to work!

Between parenting, pregnancy and your career, you have a lot on your plate. How do you manage?

For me, it’s not about balancing everything, it’s just about taking each day as it comes and giving yourself a lot of grace. That’s pretty much it. Every day looks different. Just try to be thankful for each day.

You’re also a New York Times best-selling author. Tell us about your book, I Said Yes: My Story of Heartbreak, Redemption And True Love.

That’s so crazy to hear, it feels so wild. It came out in March, and it’s really just my story about God’s grace, and sharing my walk in faith.

Tragedy struck your life early on when you lost your fiancé Ricky Hendrick, and then love failed to work itself out for you on both The Bachelor and The Bachelorette. How have you stayed to positive?

There’s definitely been times where I haven’t been so positive, just like anybody who experiences any kind of tragedy, whether it’s major or just day-to-day life things. It’s easy to get down. I just remind myself of what’s important, and with two kids and another on the way, you don’t have much time to feel sorry for yourself, which helps a lot too [laughs].

And now you’ve met the love of your life in your husband, Tyler Johnson.  

Yeah, absolutely. He’s brought so much joy into mine and Ricki’s life, and it’s been a blessing for both of us.

You’ve known him for a while, haven’t you?

I have! I met him after I did The Bachelor. We met at church. Then, I went and did The Bachelorette, and we dated after that.

How are you celebrating National Bump Day?

I am going to celebrate by celebrating my bump! Also, I feel like I owe it to other pregnant women out there [to celebrate the day]. I went on Twitter and asked them for help and they came through, so I feel like I owe it to all the other pregnant women out there to help them to know that you don’t have to suffer. I’m sure there are a lot of other women out there who are feeling as helpless as I did, and I just really want to get the word out to talk to your doctor, because it can really help and make your life a lot easier when you’re pregnant.