Meghan McCain Expecting First Child After Suffering Miscarriage and Will Be Isolating During Coronavirus
Meghan McCain has a baby on the way — and that’s leading to another big change.
The co-host of ABC’s The View, 35, on Sunday announced that she and conservative writer husband Ben Domenech were “blessed to find out” she’s expecting a child.
“Although this isn’t how I expected to announce my pregnancy, both we and our families are excited to share the news with you all,” she wrote in a social media post.
McCain also said that she’ll start making her View appearances by satellite and “joining the millions of Americans who are self-isolating as a precaution to prevent the spread of COVID-19 [the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus].”
In her social media post on Sunday, McCain wrote that she “consulted with my doctors and they advised me that for the safety of our baby and myself, I should be extra vigilant about limiting the amount of people we come in contact with.”
Courtesy Meghan McCain From left: Ben Domenech and Meghan McCain
A source close to her tells PEOPLE: “She and her family are very excited by the news. But right now, she’s finding strength at her role at The View. She knows her most important responsibility is to inform Americans to stay home and minimize the spread of the coronavirus.”
McCain has been vocal about the importance of following personal hygiene guidelines and “social distancing,” which health officials say is a key thing the public can do to slow coronavirus infections by avoiding gatherings and staying home as much as possible.
Lou Rocco/ABC Meghan McCain
“I’m fortunate that my employer, ABC, has allowed me and my co-hosts to work remotely,” she wrote on Sunday. “I am indebted to our producers and crew. I also want to acknowledge the heroes — the doctors, nurses, grocery and pharmacy workers, journalists, police officers, firemen and military — who are on the front lines of this fight.”
“Please stay safe,” she added. “Wash your hands and avoid public gatherings and I will continue to see you each morning on The View.”
News of her pregnancy comes about eight months after McCain wrote an op-ed for The New York Times in which she revealed she suffered a miscarriage. “For a brief moment, I had the privilege of seeing myself in the sisterhood of motherhood,” she wrote about her baby girl. “I had a miscarriage. I loved my baby, and I always will. To the end of my days I will remember this child — and whatever children come will not obscure that.”
McCain, who wed Domenech, 38, in November 2017, wrote then, “I have love for my child. I have love for all the women who, like me, were briefly in the sisterhood of motherhood, hoping, praying and nursing joy within us, until the day the joy was over.”
She has spoken jokingly before about the pressure to have kids, especially from mom Cindy McCain.
Meghan McCain’s wedding to Ben Domenech
RELATED: See the First Picture of Meghan McCain’s Romantic Western-Themed Wedding
“She has never asked me before and then all [of a] sudden she brings it up all the time,” Meghan told PEOPLE in June 2018. “It’s hilarious and uncomfortable.”
Meghan also said she hoped to be a role model to her child, just like how her own parents were to her. Between serving as a United States senator and running for president, Meghan said her late father, John McCain, impressively found time to be a present and positive influence in her life.
“He pulled off being such a good dad. If I ever have kids, I want to figure out how he did it,” she said of the politician, who died in August 2018. “My mom is truly the matriarch of our family and has kept everyone sane.”
RELATED VIDEO: The View‘s Meghan McCain Is Engaged
The View's Meghan McCain Is Engaged
Meghan McCain is a bride-to-be!
Sen. McCain was a big part of his daughter’s wedding. A rep for the bride told PEOPLE in an exclusive statement that he walked Meghan down the aisle before she and Domenech were married by John Dickerson.
The pair pushed their festivities forward and tied the knot four months after Sen. McCain revealed that he was battling glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer.
The nuptials held approximately 100 guests including close friends, family and former colleagues who worked on Sen. McCain’s two presidential campaigns in 2000 and 2008.
Sierra Blanco Photography From left: Meghan McCain, Sen. John McCain and Cindy McCain at Meghan’s wedding
A post shared by Meghan McCain (@meghanmccain) on Nov 20, 2018 at 5:58pm PST
In November 2018, Meghan marked her first year of marriage with a collection of snapshots from the big day.
“1 year married tomorrow baby, I can’t believe it’s been a year. My ride or die from day one. In the words of the late poet Johnny Cash — we fell into a burning ring of fire,” she captioned the images.
“My great love, my best friend, my true partner, my shelter from the storm. I would not have survived this last year without you,” Meghan wrote in reference to the death of her father.
“Thank you for always taking on the world beside me — Bonnie and Clyde forever,” she wrote. “I love you with my entire heart Ben.”
