In December, the couple announced that they're expecting their first child.
Drew Scott and Linda Phan's pregnancy journey wasn't an easy one. In an essay for Reveal Magazine, the couple writes about the infertility struggles they dealt with before their December announcement that they are expecting their first child.
When ET spoke with the couple about their essay via email, they revealed why now was the right time to open up about their fertility struggles.
"When we first started trying for a family, what helped me the most was reading other people’s stories," Phan explained, with Scott adding, "A lot of people go through some pretty tough journeys, so it helped build a community of support that we wanted to be a part of and support, as well."
In their essay, Scott and Phan write that they "were so caught up in the machine that helped other families build their forever homes (over 500!) that we didn't tend to our own as much as we said we wanted to."
"We weren't looking after our home, ourselves, our hearts. We hadn't decided to wait this long," they add. "We'd just never taken the steps to make it come true. We thought it would magically happen, and it didn't."
The pair went through "two years of half-assed effort and pure unawareness" while trying to get pregnant. "Not getting pregnant right away was a wake-up call for both of us," they write.
At that time, Linda, 36, explains that she was "just so anxious and sad that maybe it was too late for us," though she and Scott did agree that adoption was an option.
"I'd feel dumb for waiting so long, for not having given a thought to whether I wanted kids. (Spoiler alert: I do.) I'd think, 'I should've worked harder to plan for this,' and feel silly that I ignored the possibility that it might not be easy," she writes. "And then I'd feel optimistic again. Then the next month it would be the same cycle of emotions."
For Scott, 43, "it was hard to see Linda go through that." Witnessing his wife's struggles, he says, made him realize that he "needed to refocus my priorities and time."
Then came quarantine due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While Phan writes that she and Scott "felt so grateful to be able to stay home," the state of the world didn't make it easy to focus on getting pregnant.
"How the heck were we supposed to be 'in the mood' when it was such a scary time and so many people were suffering?" she questions. "It was mentally tough and we were often guilt-ridden that we were OK."
Still, they went to work and began tracking ovulations, eating better and trying to de-stress. They attended regular therapy sessions, got acupuncture, went to doctor appointments, and focused on meditating, exercising and getting enough sleep.
They also leaned on their family and friends, and were thankful for their support system's check-ins, delivered meals, and recommended books and podcasts. Having loved ones who'd listen to them, share in their disappointment, grant them privacy when needed, and made sure to provide fun and laughs also proved important.
Eventually, all their hard work paid off with a call from their doctor.
"I looked over at you with my jaw open," Phan recalls of learning she was pregnant. "It's kind of funny. Anticipating hearing those words, I expected to jump with joy. However, in that moment I remember feeling more of a sense of relief... I remember hugging each other on the sofa in the attic and feeling a combination of peace, happiness, a drop of doubt, and bliss... all the things."
Now that they have their baby on the way, the couple is prepared for the unexpected. "If this little one is anything like either of us, our plans will change by the minute. And we're OK with that," they share.
In ET's email interview with the couple, they gushed about the plans they've made for their little one, including a picnic in the forest-themed nursery, and shared how excited their families are for their baby on the way.
"I think my brothers will be amazing uncles, same with Linda’s brother, James," Scott said of his brothers, Jonathan and JD. "... It is amazing to see [JD], Jonathan, and Linda’s sisters and brother all so excited."
"They're all going to be so goofy," Phan predicted.
While the pair feels nerves about "balancing that personal time" once the newborn arrives, they can't wait to experience it all together.
"I’m just most excited to see that cutie patootie’s little face, when the baby comes out, and say, 'Oh wow, you’re a part of us!'" Scott said, with Phan adding, "I’m also really excited to see the baby’s face and just bask in all the love."
Reveal Magazine is a quarterly lifestyle and home magazine by Drew and Jonathan Scott available on newsstands across the country. The Spring/Family Issue hits newsstands April 1.
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