NEED TO KNOW
“Sparkle” Megan Walerius is opening up about her surprise baby news.
Following her announcement at the Love Is Blind season 9 reunion that she had welcomed a baby boy, named Brooks, with her partner, Paul Wegman, Walerius spoke exclusively with PEOPLE about her journey to motherhood — and why she decided to keep her son out of the public eye for his first few months.
Walerius, 35, recalls that the moment she found out about her pregnancy was like “a wave of emotions all at once.”
“I was excited and happy, but also surprised and a little scared,” she says. “I’d been told by multiple doctors in the past that getting pregnant naturally would likely be very difficult for me because of a congenital condition, so when it happened so quickly, I was a little taken aback.”
“I think a part of me still carried the fear that I might not be ready to be a mom,” she adds. “But I can confidently say that those doubts and fears feel very far away today, and motherhood has easily turned into my favorite and most fulfilling chapter of life thus far.”
Ashley McIntosh with Linden and Lace Photography
Ahead of baby Brooks’ July arrival, Walerius was nervous about the birth process — but she says even the “intense” labor and delivery was worth it to hold her son for the first time.
“My labor and delivery did not quite go as planned,” she tells PEOPLE. “I had planned for an unmedicated birth at a birthing center, but after laboring for about 20 hours, some complications arose and I ultimately needed an emergency C-section.”
“It was frightening for a moment, but the second I heard his cry and saw him safe, I was overcome with so much love and joy,” she adds. “Every part of the journey was worth it.”
Ashley McIntosh with Linden and Lace Photography
Walerius had been pretty private about her dating life since her Love Is Blind season ended and she split from ex-fiancé Jordan Keltner. But she took a leap and announced during the reunion that she and Wegman, the CEO of an industrial automation company, had started a family together.
As Walerius explained at the time, she and Wegman were introduced by a friend three months after filming wrapped for the Netflix series’ latest season in early 2024. The couple hit it off right away — and the baby came soon after.
According to the TV star, she finds a “sense of relief” in being able to be open about her family life after keeping Brooks’ first few months private.
Ashley McIntosh with Linden and Lace Photography
“There’s definitely a sense of relief in finally being able to share this part of my life and to just live normally as a family without feeling like we’re hiding,” she tells PEOPLE.
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Being open about her journey to motherhood has also given her a “layer of protectiveness,” Walerius said, sharing that becoming a mom while suddenly becoming a public figure has been an “adjustment.”
She says some of the online commentary she’s received since making her baby announcement has been “surprisingly harsh” — “especially toward someone who is so freshly postpartum.”
“I think people can forget that there’s a real human being behind the screen,” Walerius notes. “But I’m incredibly grateful.”
“I have a strong support system, a grounded sense of who I am, and a lot of people who are cheering us on,” the new mom says. “I’m choosing to focus on that, and on being present with my son.”
