“Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker has welcomed her second child — a baby boy named John Zachary Welker Hughes — who already knows how to impress his editors by beating a deadline.
The happy news came Sunday when Welker’s fill-in, Peter Alexander, announced on air that the “Meet the Press” family officially had a new member, arriving nearly two weeks before his due date.
The baby boy was born Thursday, weighed in at 7 pounds and measured almost 20 inches long, Alexander said. Welker, who announced on the “Today” show in May that she and husband John Hughes were expecting the child via surrogate, said at the time that the baby boy was due on June 12. The couple publicized their life update in hopes that their news “offers hope to others who are trying to build their own families.”
Baby John joins big sister Margot, 3, who was “extremely proud” to welcome her brother home on Saturday, Alexander said as images of the growing family flashed during the telecast. Welker was seen in photos cradling the new arrival, as did her husband and young daughter.
“Kristen shares that her surrogate, who she calls her ‘angel on earth,’ is doing great,” Alexander added.
“Today” show co-anchor Carson Daly on Monday also confirmed John Zachary’s arrival, telling viewers that the tiny tot’s nickname would be J.Z., much to the delight of his morning-show co-stars.
Welker, who made history in September when she became the first Black woman to moderate the network’s Sunday public affairs program, has been candid about her infertility struggle and her support for others who face similar circumstances. NBC’s former chief White House correspondent welcomed daughter Margot through surrogacy in 2021 and worked with a surrogate named Angelica this time around, describing her last month as a “literal angel on earth.”
Welker publicly discussed their challenging road to parenthood in 2021, sharing that Welker underwent in vitro fertilization treatments for two years before learning that her uterus was not thick enough for childbirth. The “NBC Nightly News” fill-in anchor and her husband said in May that they were determined to give their daughter a sibling and started “working on a second baby” in 2022. The process was full of setbacks and heartbreak, including losing embryos, but Welker said she’s proud that she and Hughes didn’t give up.
It is unclear how long Welker will be away from the moderator seat on “Meet the Press.” A spokesperson for the NBC program did not immediately respond Monday to The Times’ request for comment.