Not how she wanted to share the news. Floribama Shore star Candace Renee Rice announced she is pregnant — and in the hospital.
“I didn’t want to post these yet, but unfortunately yesterday I went into pre term labor at 24 weeks. Dr. Tosha Muse in addition to all the wonderful doctors & nurses have been doing all they can to keep baby Maxwell Michael Hardy inside the womb as long as possible. It’s wayyyy too early for him to enter,” the 28-year-old MTV star wrote alongside a series of maternity snaps on Thursday, December 23, via Instagram. “Thank you to all my friends that have called me, checked on me throughout this entire pregnancy. Thank you to my amazing family, Mama & Papa Rice for being there for me every step of the way.”
Rice tagged her boyfriend, who goes by DJ Skar on social media.
“Thank you most of all to my love who have been there for me through the worst HG possible (I lost 20 pounds in the first 4 months and was throwing up on average 7 times a day) could barely walk or move and he was there for me every single day making sure I had what I needed all while working full time,” she continued. “I couldn’t ask for better support system. Praying for a healthy son and speaking a miracle over my son’s life and health.”
Rice added that she is “officially on bed rest for the remainder of my pregnancy” and will not be able to leave the hospital.
“This pregnancy has sat my busy body behind down,” she wrote. “[I] will be in the hospital for the remainder of the year in isolation thanks to COVID. Take it easy mommy-to-bes. I don’t care what you think you have to do, the only thing you actually HAVE to do is let that baby bake, stress-free in peace.”
The reality TV personality added the hashtag, “#BoyMom.”
Rice’s costar Nilsa Prowant, who gave birth to a son with fiancé Gus Gazda in May, sent support in the comments section.
“Praying for you! Sending you all my love! Baby Maxwell is already so loved ❤️,” the 27-year-old mother of Gray wrote.
Prowant, who has starred on Floribama Shore alongside Rice since its 2017 premiere, didn’t have a seamless pregnancy either. The same month she went into labor, Prowant was diagnosed with polyhydramnios. She also suffered from postpartum depression.
“I really look up to the moms on Jersey Shore because I know a couple of them have struggled with it. They’ve given me some really good advice and I know that if they can get through it, I can get through it,” Prowant told Us Weekly in September. “Motherhood is hard, but [I’ll] get through it. … I would suffer from postpartum depression every single day of my life if it means I get to have my son.”
