While any expectant celebrity parents would naturally hope for a joyful reception when they announce their pregnancy, for Vanderpump Rules star Lala Kent, her experience couldn't be further from that.
The US reality star took to Instagram on Sunday night to break the delightful news that she's expecting her second child with a sweet baby bump photo, which included her two-year-old daughter Ocean.
In the gorgeous black and white snap, the smiling tot could be seen gazing upwards adoringly at her mother, who bore a bare growing bump in a pair of unzipped jeans.
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Lala, 33 - who welcomed Ocean with 52-year-old ex-fiancé Randall Emmett in 2021 - captioned her announcement: "I'm expanding my pod. Cheers to a new addition to my little family."
Around the same time they welcomed their daughter, Lala and film producer Randall called off their engagement after three years together, with the blonde beauty going on to accuse her ex-beau of 'repeatedly' cheating on her.
For his part, Randall told Golnesa Gharachedaghi's Genuinely GG podcast there were 'two sides to every story' and both he and Lala had made mistakes, but he would not be talking about the breakdown of their relationship publicly.
Since then, Bravo star Lala has spoke explicitly about her hope of welcoming another child.
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Back in January, she told press she was open to the possibility of conceiving a future baby through IUI (Intrauterine insemination), using the assistance of a sperm donor.
Lala told Cosmopolitan at the time that she'd had friends welcome their new additions in the same way after they struggled getting pregnant naturally.
"It was the next step they would take before doing IVF (in vitro fertilization)," she explained. "They were all in regular, normal—I call them cookie-cutter—relationships.
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"And when I had my life go in a very different direction, I knew I wanted more kids.
"I got to thinking, 'Why does my wanting more children need to involve another person?'
"I felt this need to start talking about it because there are women out in the world who sit there and wait for a man to come into the picture and are just yearning for children even though there is another way to get pregnant."
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Unfortunately for Lala, however, her decision to welcome a child single-handedly has sparked a mixed reaction.
And since her pregnancy announcement, the television star has been viciously trolled by some of her online followers, with many insisting that raising a child without a father is cruel.
"This is sad ... having a baby without a father is sad. Every child deserves a mom and a dad," one penned in the comments of her post.
Another went on: "Ps who’s the daddy lol???"
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"Whose the daddy? What have I missed," a third teased.
Thankfully for the on-screen favourite, however, thousands of fans have since come to her defence, supporting her decision to use a sperm donor.
"These comments are so vile," one hit out. "It's 2024 you'd think women have freedom by now without judgement to conceive how they see fit.
"May I reminder people there are a lot of toxic 2 parent households, just because there's two doesn't make it better. Wow."
Another hit out: "Why should a woman be deprived if being a mother and having children if she doesn’t have a man. It is extremely courageous!!! Good for Lala!"
"So many disgusting comments in here FROM WOMEN," a third penned. "As we are currently battling for rights of our own bodies and here come women tearing another down for something so joyful."
Topics: Celebrity, Parenting, Pregnancy, TV And Film, US News, Social media
Rhianna Benson