“I really freed myself of the rigidness of what legacy, love, and family could look like,” the former reality star said of getting pregnant at 40 via sperm donation and in vitro fertilization.
Eboni K. Williams is going to be a mom!
In a new interview with People, the Real Housewives of New York City alum revealed that she’s pregnant with her first baby — a girl, due August 16.
The news comes two years after Williams shared she was using her frozen eggs to pursue motherhood via sperm donation and IVF or in vitro fertilization.
“Anybody who’s gone through IVF or attempted IVF will tell you so many things have to go right for the final result of this journey to be a baby,” Williams told the outlet. “That’s why I’ve called this ‘my remarkable miracle,’ because it really does feel like I’ve been the recipient of some very enormous favor from God above.”
Williams also shared the nickname for her daughter-to-be, calling her “one-of-one,” which not only signifies how special this baby is to her, but also represents the luck she had to in making her dreams of getting pregnant a reality.
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“I did one egg retrieval at 34 years old, not really having a clear intention on if I would use those eggs or when I would use the eggs. And six years later, that one egg retrieval led to one genetically normal embryo which led to one successful embryo transfer and –one pregnancy later — I’ll soon have, God willing, one beautifully healthy baby girl,” the reality star shared. “So it really does feel like fate.”
While motherhood wasn’t always in Williams’ plans, the pandemic and some internal soul searching led her to want explore the idea of starting her own family.
“I want to say that with conviction and clarity; I was not the little girl that grew up fantasizing about having kids and what I would name them and all of that,” Williams maintained. “That was not my dream or fantasy. I had no real expectation around it.”
“I was really thinking I would never use them, whether I got married again or didn’t,” she added of the egg freezing process. “It was the pandemic and having some real existential conversations within my own self about legacy and life and love and the different ways in which I really wanted to explore family.”
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That time also allowed her to change the traditional idea of motherhood she had been living with all her life and do it her own way and on her own terms.
“I really freed myself of the rigidness of what legacy, love, and family could look like,” the lawyer and TV personality shared. “Those are the three pillars I reassessed, and it helped shake me from this idea of, ‘I have to have it this way on this timeline everyone else is following.'”
After leaving Housewives Williams returned to her roots in broadcast journalism, and in law, presiding judge on the first-run syndicated daytime court show Equal Justice with Judge Eboni K. Williams, which debuted in September 2023.
And while she’s busier than ever, the success of her ventures in the last few years as well as buying property in Manhattan during the pandemic, solidified Williams’ decision that she’s never been more ready to be a mom.
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“There will always be that voice that says, ‘Maybe I should have waited to meet a man and remarry before I had a baby? Maybe I should not be trying to do this alone.’ But f— that!” Williams said. “I’m not waiting. I’m 40 years old. I’m not waiting to build assets. I’m not waiting to build my career. I’m not waiting to travel. And I’m certainly not waiting to start a family.”
She continued, “I just refuse to wait one more day, that’s where I’m at. Everything I want to do, I’m doing right now. And I’m excited. I feel as ready as I’m ever going to be.”
She’s also received lots of love from her Bravo fam since announcing the news Wednesday, with Shahs of Sunset’s Golnesa “GG” Gharachedaghi, who also used a sperm donor to conceive, commenting, “Girl I am screaming!!!!!! YESSSSSSSS!!!! YESSSSSSS!!! AMEN! I’m so proud of you!.”
RHOA’s Kenya Moore and Sheree Whitfield also weighed in, with Kenya writing, “Crying😢😢😢😢😢😢😢 congratulations God will give you all things!!,” and Whitfield adding, “Aaaahhh Congratulations! There is nothing more fulfilling than being a mom!❤️🙏.”