LION BABE's Jillian Hervey Shares Why She Kept Her Pregnancy & Her Relationship Private
Jillian Hervey is a new mommy! The singer recently gave birth to a baby boy with her partner and LION BABE bandmate Lucas Goodman after keeping it a secret for nine months. Jillian spoke with Essence about her decision to keep the pregnancy and her relationship with Lucas under wraps.
“My personal life, like my creative life, is sacred, but coming from the upbringing I have had, I never wanted to overshare,” she said. “Lucas and I have always valued our privacy and up until this point have never spoken of our relationship. There is an endless connection in the words I write, images we create, and music we make, that invites you into our personal life. Although we are in the age of sharing everything, I am far more old-school and prefer to make sure that I have a life full of experiences that are just for me/us.”
And while privacy is important to the couple, they do acknowledge what it would mean to their fans to share the special moment in their lives. “I also think pregnancy always invites opinions, and as soon as I found out, I knew that I had a lot of thoughts of my own about what was going on, and didn’t want to add additional pressure to what I was already creating in my own mind,” she said.
“Our LION BABE world does feel like a family though, so that is why it now feels appropriate. This is a huge milestone filled with love in our lives, and we didn’t want to start another year of creating, without our fans, community, and supporters knowing that this miracle had just occurred.”
Jillian’s mom, Vanessa Williams, is also overjoyed with being a grandmother. The veteran actress gushed over her daughter and grandchild on her Instagram page.
“So proud to welcome my beautiful daughter @lionbabe into the wonderful, challenging, and most rewarding role in life …motherhood, she wrote. “I’m always here to support, advise and babysit at any moment ☀️ And of course the amazing father @astroraw who has been by Jillian’s side since the beginning with support, love, and endless creativity.”
Jillian isn’t the first celebrity to hide her pregnancy. Here are some other famous faces who kept their baby news a secret until the time was right.
Samira Wiley
The day after Mother’s Day, Orange is the New Black star Samira Wiley revealed that her wife had given birth to their first child. Sharing a cute photo of their baby on Instagram, she captioned the post, “Happy 1st Mother’s Day to my beautiful wife, who four weeks ago today after laboring for almost 3 days gave birth to our first child—our gorgeous daughter, George.💜”
She added, “Welcome to the world, babygirl. We love you and we thank you for giving us the best 1st Mother’s Day two ladies could ask for.
George Elizabeth
4.11.2021 💜”
Viola Davis
Viola Davis’ The Help co-star Octavia Spencer actually spilled the beans about the actress becoming a mother during the 2011 ELLE Women in Hollywood. Viola and her husband Julius Tennon adopted their daughter Genesis and the actress spoke about her love for her baby girl in an Instyle interview.
“I always tell Genesis she was born from my heart, not my belly,” she said. “There are so many ways to mother rather than to carry a child in your body. So many children need parents, and so many of us want to mother. Know that you will experience motherhood to the full extent.”
Naomi Campbell
In May 2021, Naomi Campbell shocked everyone after revealing she is now a new mother via Instagram. She shared an adorable photo of the baby’s feet with a touching caption.
"A beautiful little blessing has chosen me to be her mother," she wrote. "So honoured to have this gentle soul in my life there are no words to describe the lifelong bond that I now share with you, my angel. There is no greater love."
Gabrielle Union
Gabrielle Union had a tough and long journey to motherhood. After several unsuccessful attempts at trying to get pregnant naturally and with IVF treatments, she decided to go the surrogacy route. In 2018, Gabrielle and Dwyane Wade welcomed their daughter Kaavia James Union Wade and while the family seem to be happy, there was a time when the actress questioned what her bond with her daughter would be like. Writing in her memoir, You Got Anything Stronger?, she shared.
“I was so worried that maybe she’s not gonna love me as much because I didn’t birth her. Maybe she’s not gonna respect me as much because I didn’t birth her. Maybe he’s not ever going to be able to love me fully, completely, because I wasn’t able to do this and I’ll never know.”
Featured image by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Lincoln Center
ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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How A Stay At Switzerland's Luxurious 7132 Hotel Reminded Me To Live The Life I Deserve
Sometimes, as women—especially as single Black women—we simply need to be reminded that we are deserving of living a life we dream of. Even if that means creating it for ourselves. I recently set out on a weeklong trip to Switzerland, a trip I’ve been wanting to take for years, and near the end of my visit, I had an epiphany.
“DeAnna, this is the life you deserve,” I thought to myself as I took in the gorgeous bathroom in my suite at the famous 7132 Hotel and Thermal Spa. It was one of the most luxurious hotels (and bathrooms) I had ever stayed in—and that’s saying a lot for someone who often travels for work.
To help you better understand why this was such a mental awakening for me, I first need to give a bit of my backstory. I’m in my late thirties. I’m an attorneyand a journalist. I own a home and have traveled the world extensively. Essentially, I’ve done everything in life I set out to do. However, when it comes to dating, I struggle. Not because there is anything wrong with me per se, but because my career and “lifestyle” often create problems in my romantic relationships.
View from my hotel room
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I’ve been told everything from, ‘I can’t continue to date you because you seem to choose your career over wanting to settle down and have kids’ by a man after only the second date to ‘Maybe if you just sat down somewhere for a while, I’d actually wife you’ by someone who has honestly never proven themselves to be the settle down type. And these are only a handful of the things I’ve been told over the years.
It’s been frustrating, to say the least, and there have even been seasons where I purposely dimmed my light in hopes that my career wouldn’t push away potential suitors. I know what you’re thinking, “Girl, why would you even consider that? If they’re for you, it won’t matter what you do.” Hey, don’t judge me, but also, I one hundred percent agree.
My hotel bathroom
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That’s why this recent moment in Switzerland was right on time. When I first walked into the hotel to check in, I was blown away by the surrounding beauty. It was a five-star property with one of the world’s most famous thermal bathhouses. Yet, it was something about seeing that 90% of the hotel’s guests were couples, that forced me to sit back for a bit of introspection—while soaking in the thermal spa, of course.
As I went through the mental conversation, there was a battle of sorts. On one hand, I knew that being able to partake in experiences like the one I was having at that moment was important to me. I knew that, at times I actually love being able to dabble in the finer things—after all, I’ve worked hard to be able to afford them. On the other hand, and sadly, I knew that sometimes being a single Black woman that publicly showcases her “luxurious” habits can intimidate men and even scare them off from pursuing you under the guise of them feeling like they “can’t do anything for you, because you have everything.”
My hotel room
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So, what is a girl to do?
Do I minimize/hide the life and experiences that I have? Do I play down the hard work I’ve put in to get where I am professionally? Or, do I risk being single in exchange for being able to have said life, without backlash?
Luckily, the joy that I felt while being at this property won. There was something about taking a full day to simply pamper myself at the bathhouse and in my in-room steam shower and soaker tub, indulging in cuisine from a 2-star Michelin restaurant and doing all of this while surrounded by an amazing group of Black women that reminded me—this is certainly the life I was meant to live and that I deserve. Even if it means that right now, I’ll just have to provide it for myself until the right partner comes along. And honestly, I’m okay with that.
Restaurant at 7132 hotel
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