Puking in public: It's every expectant mom's worst nightmare. And it happened to pregnant NBC News correspondent Julia E. Ainsley on live TV.
Back in May, Ainsley appeared on MSNBC with other guests to discuss President Donald Trump.
Everything appears OK. Until it’s not. Suddenly, her expression changes and she can be seen gagging and fanning herself before exiting the frame.
Ainsley was 7 weeks pregnant at the time, and no one knew except her husband, Newman Carraway Ainsley.
“I didn’t think I was still on camera! When you’re out of the studio, you don’t always have a clear view of what they’re showing on TV,” Ainsley, 32, told TODAY Parents. “I kept waiting, hoping they would clear me, meaning I could walk away. But I got no such signal and the nausea just kept getting worse.”
Ainsley told concerned fans on social media she was dehydrated. But the journalist shared the full story during a Tuesday appearance on NBC News’ “Morning Joe” with hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski.
Later that day, Ainsley posted the clip of herself getting sick with an official pregnancy announcement.
“As mentioned on @Morning_Joe today, here’s the time Baby Girl Ainsley made herself known to the world by causing a little morning sickness on national television,” Ainsley wrote on Twitter. “Coming January 2020.”
It was Brzezinski who suggested Ainsley save the video.
“I was mortified at the time, but it was good advice because it made for a fun way to let people know I’m pregnant,” Ainsley told TODAY Parents. “I understand why women keep their pregnancy a secret in the first trimester but that also happens to coincide with the worst of the symptoms. It’s basically like having the flu for 12 weeks and having to keep it a secret. If anyone has advice on how to handle this, I’m all ears!”
Currently 22 weeks along, Ainsley is no longer experiencing all-day queasiness. “Now, it's mainly limited to right when I wake up and right before I go to bed,” she revealed. “But my doctor says I’m expecting a healthy baby, so I really have no complaints.”
