Some celebrity mamas hide their pregnancies for as long as they can, while others head over to social media to announce their impending arrivals. Have you ever spotted your favorite star lugging a bunch of unnecessary bags or wearing an oversized top that doesn't exactly fit their personality chuck it up to the art if concealing the baby bump? Some have mastered the art and some have not. Eva Mendes attempted to hide two pregnancies and almost successfully got away with it, And Kylie Jenner almost disappeared from her beloved Snapchat when she got pregnant.
But for some women like Kerry Washington, it's almost entirely imperative to hide her pregnancy when she started to show a baby bump while in the middle of filming, Scandal. Since the beginning of TV and movies, actresses have been hiding their burgeoning bellies for the sake of the shot---a pillow, an oversized coat or the strategically placed purse. On the other hand, some women take to the mountain tops to talk about their pregnancies like Tia Mowry who struggled with getting pregnant and when she did get find out she was expecting she embraced it and showed it off to the world. Check out why some celebrity mamas decide to hide their pregnancies, while others post every single moment on Instagram.
20 Hid It: Kylie Jenner
Kylie Jenner’s pregnancy announcement was no surprise to any of her fans, but she managed to keep it mostly discreet for almost 9 months before she was seen pregnant at a construction site. Kylie made fewer and fewer appearances on social media and almost entirely stayed out of public view until the arrival her daughter, Stormi. According to Elle.com, everyone in Kylie’s camp kept her secret baby super confidential.
"They told no one. They kept the news very private, only immediate family knew. They didn’t start a text chain with family and friends until after Kylie made the announcement."
Kylie welcomed her baby on February 1st and on the 4th she explained her reasoning for keeping quiet on her pregnancy."I knew for myself I needed to prepare for this role of a lifetime in the most positive, stress-free, and healthy way I knew how" she said on Instagram.
19 Hid It: Eva Mendes
Eva Mendes tried the hardest to keep both her pregnancies private. The few times that she was seen in public she attempted to hide a semblance of a baby bump with a ton of purses or a strategically placed scarf. In an interview with Violet Grey, Eva says she wanted privacy for her daughter,
“Whether we like it or not, privacy is going to be very difficult for Esmeralda. I think it’s unfair but that’s our reality. So Ryan (Gosling) and I decided early on to give her as much privacy as we could. And my pregnancy was the first opportunity to give her that. It’s such an intimate time for the mother, too."
We have to give Eva a lot of credit for this. Having a baby in Hollywood must be a lot of pressure, and adding to the fact that everyone in the world knows about it? She almost got away with it but the paparazzi spoiled it by capturing a pic of Mendes with her belly on display.
18 Hid It: Kerry Washington
Kerry Washington had to hide her baby bump while working on her hit TV show, Scandal. The production had to come up with creative ways to keep her baby under wraps so they would use old TV magic like hiding the star behind purses, clipboards, wearing big coats and sitting in a restaurant. While promoting Scandal’s 6th season she stopped by Good Morning America and said it was funny to try and spot the obviously growing baby according to Us Magazine.
“You could play a really fun game for the first five episodes of find the bump. We shot five episodes before I gave birth.”
She explained how they would her pregnancy, “Behind flowers, behind Prada purses. Behind big coats and capes.” Kerry welcomed her son Caleb Kelechi, in October 2016. She was already mom to daughter, Isabelle.
17 Flaunted It: Khloe Kardashian
Khloe Kardashian tried to hide her baby bump so she could give fans a huge reveal, but fans already suspected that the reality star was expecting her first child. As soon as she could tell people she was pregnant, she went baby bump crazy on Instagram often sharing photos of her growing baby bump from modeling in her Good American denim to dressing up her pregnancy bod for TV appearances like on Jimmy Kimmel Live. Khloe even launched Good Mama, a pregnancy line from her Good American apparel.
Unfortunately, Khloe has encountered a few controversies with her boyfriend, Tristan Thompson but the duo welcomed their baby girl on April 12, 2018.
Khloe took to Instagram to reveal the little girl's name. “Our little girl, True Thompson, has completely stolen our hearts and we are overwhelmed with LOVE. Such a blessing to welcome this angel into the family! Mommy and Daddy loooooove you True!”
16 Flaunted It: Hilaria Baldwin
Wow, Hilaria and Alec Baldwin are currently expecting their fourth child in five years. And the yoga instructor is not shy about showing off her pregnancy bumps and her yoga moves which she continues even while pregnant. “So many women give up. They think I’m a mom now, so I’m always going to be out of shape. No! I’m of the opinion that just because we’re pregnant doesn’t mean we’re sick. Let’s be strong and in the best shape possible. I still jog four miles, four days a week, though I plan to switch to swimming soon. I do barre class three times a week. And I do yoga every day. For me, it’s all part of having a healthy mind-set.” Now that's what you can call a fit pregnancy.
15 Hid It: Alexis Bledel
Gilmore Girls star Alexis Bledel was so secretive about her pregnancy that there are rarely any photos of her baby bump, only a hint of a bump. But there are almost no photos of her fully pregnant and there are no photos of her elusive baby boy. Alexis’ rep only confirmed the news to People after her Gilmore Girls co-star, Scott Patterson told Glamour Magazine about her baby.
“She’s really blossomed as a woman and now she’s a proud new mother and married and happy. We’re comparing notes because my son is about a year and a half older than her young son. I’m showing her photos and videos and what to expect. We’re just really enjoying each other’s company.”
Alexis and husband, Vincent Kartheiser must lead very reclusive lives since not only are there no images of the baby, but Alexis and Vincent stay off the radar when not promoting their projects.
14 Hid It: Beyonce
Beyonce kept both of her pregnancies under wraps for months before doing big reveals. During her first pregnancy with Blue Ivy, Beyonce opted to hide her baby bump for months before making her pregnancy announcement at the 2011 MTV VMAs. Then she did it all again when she announced an even bigger surprise in early 2017 when she announced she was expecting twins with husband Jay Z.
The international superstar made her pregnancy announcement a little more low-key this time opting to share her impending news on her Instagram account with a snapshot of her twin belly.
She wrote, “We would like to share our love and happiness. We have been blessed two times over. We are incredibly grateful that our family will be growing by two, and we thank you for your well wishes. - The Carters.”
13 Hid It: Anna Kournikova
Anna Kournikova shocked all when it was announced she has already given birth to twins with longtime singer/boyfriend, Enrique Iglesias. After more than a decade together it seemed as though the couple was not looking to expand their family. Then at the end of 2017 everything changed for the couple when their twins, Nicholas and Lucy arrived according to E!. The super reclusive couple managed to maintain their privacy. There are a few images of a possibly pregnant Anna floating around but we can know for sure since the images are grainy. And sneaky Ann even posted a workout video on Instagram but the former tennis player used a huge top and wind to conceal her bump. Anna would only post photos from the torso up and her dogs.
12 Flaunted It: Serena Williams
Serena Williams had to choice but to flaunt her pregnancy after accidentally posted a photo of her pregnant belly in a yellow bathing suit. The tennis pro’s mistakenly revealed her surprise pregnancy on Snapchat and she didn’t even know what she had done until hours later.
Serena had only planned to take progress photos of her pregnancy not reveal to the world she was expecting. She quickly tried to delete the image, but the damage was done.
Serena explained her mistake to Gayle King during an April 2017 TED Conference according to Us Magazine. “On social media, you press the wrong button and … 30 minutes later I missed four calls and I’m like, ‘That’s weird. I have this thing where I’ve been checking my status and taking pictures every week to see how far along I’m getting. I’ve been so good about it, but this was the one time it slipped.” Whoops!
11 Flaunted It: Jessica Simpson
Jessica Simpson loved showing off her pregnant belly during both her pregnancies with daughter Maxwell and Son, Ace. But it wasn’t necessarily by choice the petite singer turned entrepreneur carried big. Jessica reportedly signed a $3 million deal with 'Weight Watchers' to help her with her post-baby self. “Just so everyone knows...Weight Watchers hasn’t put ANY pressure on me! I’m trying to be as healthy as I can be for myself and I feel great!” she wrote on Twitter at the time. Just two years later Jessica once again enlisted the help of Weight Watchers with her second pregnancy. “I was so insecure. I couldn't even believe what I weighed,' she told Good Morning America according to DailMail. “I don't think that I ever expected myself to see the numbers that I have seen on the scale.”
10 Hid It: Pink
No one knew Pink was pregnant until one day before she announced it on Instagram. She tried to use an oversized tote to conceal her very obvious baby. But the day after she was spotted out she decided to reveal the good news with just the caption, ‘Surprise.”
Pink would later reveal she was pregnant with a son, Jameson born just a few weeks later. The singer would like to have more children but she’s unsure at the moment.
“I love being a mama,' she told Good Morning America, according to DailyMail. “I made a choice a long time ago that I was going to have a successful family, and that is my absolute number one goal in life. I feel like I have two kids right now. I would like a third...Carey Hart is an awesome husband and a really good dad, but he's also like a second child.”
9 Hid It: Adele
Adele thought she was being sneaky when she attempted to hide her baby bump with her beloved dachshund, Louie. Adele waited until she was around 8 months pregnant to confirm that she was indeed expecting her first child with boyfriend, Simon Konecki.
After a few rumors and suspicions, Adele told fans on her website that she was pregnant.
“I’m delighted to announce that Simon and I are expecting our first child together. I wanted you to hear the news direct from me, obviously, we’re over the moon and very excited but please respect our privacy at this precious time.” Adele gave birth to a son, Angelo in October 2012. Just last year Adele told OK! Magazine according to DailMail, that she is raising her son to respect women. "I'm raising him to respect women. He knows I'm a powerful force.”
8 Hid It: Megan Fox
Megan Fox tried to hide their third pregnancy amid a divorce from husband, Brian Austin Green, but she had to make an appearance at CinemaCon in 2016 which revealed her baby bump.
At the time it was unclear if Brian was the father of Megan’s baby since the divorce was still in effect according to TMZ. The pair would later go on to reconcile and cancel the divorce and they welcome third son, Journey, soon after.
Brian confessed to People that his marriage to Megan is hard. “I don’t know what the secret is. Just stick it out. Like fighting and making up, believing in each other. I’ve dated people before and you kind of get to that point where you go, ‘You know what, I don’t feel the same way,’ and I’ve never reached that with her. I mean we fight, we disagree on things. But I don’t want to go anywhere and she doesn’t, you know? So we stick it out.” Megan and Brian have three children together including Noah and Bodhi.
7 Flaunted It: Chrissy Teigen
Chrissy Teigen is pregnant with her second child and she was excited about her new arrival. “I'm so excited,” said during her stop at the Today Show according to the DailMail. “Luna is such a daddy's girl and they say that boys just love their mamas, so I'm already kind of thinking about how much I'm not going to like his girlfriends!” And she revealed in being able to be bossier this time around. “People have all sorts of types of pregnancies and I really prefer it,' she said. 'I think John prefers it. I'm happier if anything I'm just a little bossier. I'm a little lazy.” Chrissy is married to singer, John Legend and their yet to be an unnamed baby boy is due in June 2018. They already have one daughter together, Luna.
6 Flaunted It: Amber Rose
Amber Rose flaunted her pregnancy in colorful dresses and bright tops accentuating her growing baby. But she was annoyed at people’s response to her seemingly long pregnancy. She tweeted,
"I gotta be honest it's really irritating to hear ppl say ‘God, I've been pregnant forever’...I'm making a baby, not ramen noodles."
Amber had planned a water birth, but things changed for the model when she ended up needing an emergency C-section after learning her son, Sebastian was breech. "I found out really, really late that my son was breech, Amber said at the time in an interview via E!, "So I had to just switch it." And her water birth went out the window, "It literally took me the whole time to prepare myself for a water birth, and like, in an instant, I was gonna get my abdomen cut open and have, like, major surgery. And I'd never had surgery before, so I was really, really scared."
5 Hid It: Kate Middleton
The Royal kingdom is expanding. Meghan Markle and Prince Harry will wed in May and Prince William and his wife, Kate Middleton or rather the Duchess of Cambridge is expecting any moment now. But she has a super sneaky way of concealing her bun in the oven. The Duchess always hides her slim figure in structured coats, ruffled maxi, and peplum-style dresses and flared ensembles according to Hello Magazine. Kate has suffered from severe morning sickness with all three of her pregnancies. Kensington Palace announced her third pregnancy in September 2017. It's quite easy for the Duchess to conceal her baby bump, and she hid it well! Princess Kate gave birth to a baby boy on April 23rd and we're patiently awaiting further information but, we're so thrilled for the Royal Family!
4 Hid It: Keri Russell
Keri Russell tried to hide her pregnancy while filming her TV show, The Americans. At first, the actress tried the baggy coat trend to conceal her baby bump but then the story broke that she was expecting her third child. The baby was not written into the show's storyline and it had to be creatively blocked for scenes. Keri’s Americans co-star, Noah Emmerich spilled a few set secrets.
"First of all, Keri's really petite. It looks like she swallowed a large pea. But yes, we shoot around it. She's always standing behind a huge counter with a toaster on it. No, there are only a few angles where you can see it. It's fixable -- just picking your shots,"
Noah told ET. Keri who is dating her Americans co-star and on-screen husband, Matthew Rhys. She is already mom to two children, River and Willa, with her ex-husband, Shane Deary.
3 Hid It: Blake Lively
Blake Lively tried it all to keep her second baby under wraps while filming reshoots for her shark movie, The Shallows. She put on a robe, then she tried to wrap a towel around her waist and when that didn't work she placed a surfboard in front of her belly. That didn't quite work either. And Blake says the movie had some serious stunts in the 2016 flick according to ET. "They didn't hire a stunt double till the last two weeks of shooting. Every single day there wasn't a single scene that wasn't stunt-heavy." Those serious stunts were filmed before Blake got pregnant in the original production of the movie. She filmed obviously shot more low-key scenes for the movie. Blake’s second daughter, Ines Reynolds was born on September 30, 2016. She joined big sister, James Reynolds born December 16, 2014.
2 Flaunted It: Tia Mowry
Tia Mowry Hardrict had a hard time getting pregnant with her second baby due to an endometriosis diagnosis, so she’s been flaunting her pregnancy all over Instagram. Tia loves her new pregnancy curves, "Embracing these curves and loving every bit of it #pregnancy" But she’s now ready to welcome her baby she said on Instagram. “I’m sooooooooooo reaaaaddddddy!!! This is the hard part! Patience! The anxiety build up is so intense. It’s all about the waiting game.” We can imagine that any mother who has been waiting for forever to get pregnant would love to just flaunt it to the world, and that's exactly what Tia did. Tia is expecting a daughter with her husband of 10 years, Cory Hardrict. They already share a six-year-old son, Cree Taylor Hardrict.
1 Flaunted It: Ciara
Ciara is a natural born dancer and her big baby bump (with her daughter, Sienna) could not slow her down. Ciara shared a video on Instagram getting down and dancing to Whitney Houston’s ‘I’m Every Woman.”
Ciara doesn't hold back in this video at all and does a full dance routine while 8 months pregnant, we're impressed!. She radiated with energy during the video.
The R&B singer revealed she suffered from Diastasis Recti during her pregnancies ( where the abs pull apart). “I have Diastasis Recti from both of my pregnancies, so I have to work extra hard to regain my core strength. Determined. Let’s Go Mammas!” she wrote on Instagram (via Celebrity Health Fitness) after the birth of daughter Sienna in April 2017. She has a son, Future Zahir from a previous relationship.
References: Elle.com, Violet Grey, UsMagazine.com, Instagram, FitPregnancy.com, Glamour.com, People.com, Instagram, Eonline, UsMagazine.com, DailyMail, HuffingtonPost.com, DailyMail.com, Mirror, TMZ, People, DailyMail.com, Eonline, HelloMagazine.com, Ladbrokes.com, ETonline.com, ETOnline.com, Instagram, CelebrityHealthFitness.com
