Jana Kramer and her fiancé, Allan Russell, welcomed their first child together on Monday, November 13.
“Allan and I are both overjoyed and truly grateful to announce the birth of our son, Roman James Russell. We feel blessed to have been given the chance to create something so special together,” the couple shared in a statement to People on Tuesday, November 14.
They continued: “The name Roman really isn’t inspired by anyone, it’s just a strong name that we both love, but James (his middle name) was both of our Grandpa’s names, so that was a nod to them.”
The One Tree Hill alum, 39, and the former pro athlete, 42, confirmed in June, nearly two weeks after getting engaged, that they were expecting a baby.
“We’ve been keeping another secret from you guys (I promise this is the last Announcement … at least for a little while 🤣) but I’m pregnant!!!!” Kramer wrote via Instagram at the time, sharing a photo of the couple holding up a positive pregnancy test. “Beyond blessed and grateful for this baby to be a part of our story.”
While the Michigan native and the Norwich FC coach — who shares a 16-year-old son from a past relationship — were eager to expand their family, Kramer feared fertility struggles.
“It was a shock. I didn’t think I could get pregnant,” she confessed during an episode of her “Whine Down” podcast, noting that her past miscarriages made her worried about carrying a pregnancy to term. “[Allan] had asked me, ‘Do you wanna have another baby?’ He [was] the first person that I was like, ‘With you, yeah, I would.’ And then I remember being upset, going, ‘I just don’t think I could.’ I’m like, ‘If you really want one, I might not be your girl because I don’t know if I can physically carry a baby again.’”
Kramer — who coparents daughter Jolie, 7, and son Jace, 4, with ex-husband Mike Caussin — revealed in 2018 that she had suffered multiple miscarriages before Jace’s arrival.
“My body just went through so many hormonal changes and I was like, ‘There are so many women that feel this way right now and they feel alone too,’” the Soccer Mom Madam actress exclusively told Us Weekly that May. “It’s frustrating, but what I’ve realized is, it’s truly a miracle to have a baby and it’s all in God’s timing and hands. If it’s meant to be, it will be.”
Kramer and Caussin, 36, ultimately split in April 2021 amid alleged infidelity on the former football player’s part. The “Story” songstress later moved on with Russell, which she publicly revealed in January 2023.
“I definitely found my person,” Kramer exclusively gushed to Us the following April. “He’s incredible. He’s just very safe,” Kramer told Us. “I’m just different around him. I’m more calm. And again, I’ve never felt safe in a relationship and it’s just — it’s really nice to feel that.”
She continued: “In the past, a relationship equaled happiness to me, and I broke that last year before I even met [Allan]. I was like, ‘OK, I gotta find happy with me or I will never be happy because a boyfriend can’t make me happy. A husband can’t make me happy.’ … I got to a just a good place — and then that’s when the happiness also came.”
After six months of dating, Russell proposed to the “I Got the Boy” singer shortly before Jolie spilled the beans to Caussin via FaceTime.
“She’s like, ‘Guess what, Daddy? Mommy’s engaged!’” Kramer recalled during a May 2023 episode of her podcast. “And he’s like, ‘Aw, that’s nice.’ I would have liked to have told him, but I also don’t want Jolie to have to keep secrets from her dad.”
She continued: “He was like, ‘Hey, I’m really happy for you. Allan’s a great guy.’ Actually, I started to cry because he goes, ‘Of all people, you deserve to have someone that loves you and respects you and you deserve this.’ He’s like, ‘After everything I put you through, you deserve this more than anyone.’ It meant so much to me that he said that.”
