Congratulations are in order for Adut Akech. The model is expecting her first child with partner Samuel Elkhier.
Akech, 24, revealed she’s pregnant in Vogue before sharing an Instagram post that included shots from her Vogue maternity shoot.
“Beyond BLESSED, GRATEFUL and CANNOT wait to meet our bundle of joy!!!” the expectant mother captioned the post.
While speaking to Vogue, Akech said she has 10 weeks left in her pregnancy, which means she was just over a month pregnant during the Met Gala when she arrived in a skin-tight lace LaQuan Smith catsuit. She said that thus far, pregnancy has been a “beautiful feeling, but a mental and physical rollercoaster. Nothing really ever prepares you for it.”
She has experienced cravings for oranges and a fluctuating appetite.
“I want everything — I’ll force my mom to cook three traditional dishes and on top of that I’m having KFC,” she said.
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While she explained this pregnancy came as a bit of a surprise, she’s excited to embark on the journey to motherhood at her “young” age.
Akech, whose mother was 20 when she had her, said, “I always said I wanted to be a young mom because I love the idea of growing up with your kids.”
She added that the 20-year age difference between her and her mother “plays a huge role in how close we are.”
While she is three years younger than the current American average for first-time mothers, she is in good company with first-time young and famous Black women. Actress and singer Halle Bailey and tennis pro Naomi Osaka both recently welcomed bundles of joy under the age of 26.
In addition to being close with her future child, Akech told the publication she has a sense of what she hopes to demonstrate for them. Reflecting on her upbringing in South Sudan, which included eight years of living in a Kenyan refugee camp, Akech said, “When you don’t come from much, you don’t really value the material stuff.”
She has managed not to get “carried away” with her current life and intends to instill this in her future children by encouraging them to work for what they want in life.
“My mom didn’t have anything! I bought my own first car, so I’m going to make sure that my kids buy their own first car,” she added.
She continued, “I just want to teach my kids what’s valuable. And what’s not. Just to be a kind, decent human being.”
