Original Mommy Blogger Who Nearly Died in Plane Crash Expecting Baby 13 Years After Her Last: 'Total Plot Twist!'
Original mommy blogger Stephanie Nielson is pregnant again, 13 years after welcoming her fourth baby
The expectant mom announced the exciting news on her Instagram, sharing a picture of the sonogram
In the caption, the soon-to-be mom of five revealed the sex and the due date for her little oneStephanie Nielson is expanding her family.
Nielson, a mommy blogger who first stepped into the spotlight after sharing her tale of survival and endurance following a plane crash, announced via Instagram that she's pregnant and expecting another baby with husband Christian Nielson.
Sharing a picture of her sonogram, the expectant mom said that the pregnancy news comes as "a total plot twist," revealing that the couple is expecting a baby girl in February 2026. The couple is already parents to four kids: Nicholas, Oliver, Jane and Claire.
"Just two weeks before Claire got married, I went to the doctor for what I thought was for something completely different and was given some very unexpected news - a total plot twist! I'm pregnant," she wrote in the caption.
She continued, "This summer brings lots of change: kids heading off to college, a missionary, an 8th grader, a new business, ... and a new little Nielson baby girl arriving in February 2026. 🩷."
https://people-app.onelink.me/HNIa/kz7l4cuf
On a summer afternoon in 2008, Nielson and her husband were in a plane crash in St. Johns, Ariz. One minute, he was taking the twin-engine plane into the clouds, and the next, the duo were bracing for impact. After that came a crash, a fire and a death-defying crawl out of molten airplane wreckage.
Burns covered more than 80 percent of her body and her face was damaged. In that moment, Nielson lost her health, her beauty and the idyllic existence she'd chronicled on her blog. 'I lost my sense of who I was,' she said. 'I felt I had nothing.'
After the crash, she spent 4½ months in the hospital, much of it in a medically induced coma. According to her husband, the doctors didn't think that she would make it.
Toward the end of her hospital stay, Christian brought the kids to see their mom for the first time since the crash. 'They came in expecting to see me,' she said. 'They didn't recognize me with all the burns and scars. When I called them over for a hug, they were afraid. It was awful.'
After the kids left, she recalls breaking down, 'I literally felt my heart breaking. I wanted to die. I couldn't see all I had to live for.'
Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
'I have had to adapt a few of my mothering skills to accommodate this new body of mine,' she told PEOPLE at the time. 'Bathing Charlotte has been hard with my stiff burned hands, burping her over my shoulder is sometimes difficult with the scarring on my neck, and kissing her is different with my tender lips. But it's all the same – beautiful.'
She said that the opportunity to kiss her daughter at all had been a miracle and a gift. 'I'm alive,' Stephanie added. 'I'm able to enjoy my children. I have everything.'
Read the original article on People
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
20 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Mom Accumulates More Than 30 Tattoos. Now She Says She Regrets Every Single One (Exclusive)
Alexa Locke got her first tattoo at 18 years oldNEED TO KNOW Alexa Locke first began admiring tattoos when she was around 16 So when she turned 18, getting her first tattoo felt like a natural next step Now, 20 years later, the Chico, Calif., resident estimates she has between 25 and 30 tattoos — not including a full sleeve on her left armAlexa Locke first began admiring tattoos at around 16, often noticing them on others and imagining what she might get one day. So when she turned 18, getting her first tattoo felt like a natural next step. Now, 20 years later, the Chico, Calif., resident estimates she has between 25 and 30 tattoos — not including a full sleeve on her left arm. Her ink primarily reflects two classic styles: traditional American and Japanese. But at 37, and now a mother, Locke says her perspective on her tattoos has changed dramatically. "I got the majority of my tattoos very quickly and far too young," Locke tells PEOPLE exclusively. "I started regretting them once I became a mother. The judgment and stereotypes around tattoos are still very strong, which is disheartening — but it's also reality. I hate how everyone's first impression of me is just that I'm a tattooed woman. I'm so much more than that." "Who I was 20 years ago is nowhere near the woman I am today. And when people look at me, they see her — not the person I am now," she continues. "The woman I am today is far more educated, mature and secure in herself. Yes, I hate my tattoos, but I've accepted them because they came from choices I made when I was younger. I understand that I did this to myself, and I understand why I'm judged for it. I don't see myself as a victim, this is simply one of the consequences of my actions." Locke says the social stigma surrounding tattoos has taken a toll. For instance, she's been overlooked for jobs and rejected on the spot simply because of her ink. "That's been a tough pill to swallow, especially knowing it's my own doing," she says. "I hate that everyone's first impression of me is that I'm a tattooed woman. I'm so much more than that. You'll never know how funny I am. You'll never know how kind I am. You'll never know that I'm probably the most nonjudgmental person you'll ever meet." "People always say, 'Why do you care what others think? Just be confident in who you are!' And it's not about confidence — I am confident," she adds. "What's painful is not being given the chance to show people who I really am because my tattoos are all they see." Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. A licensed esthetician, Locke enjoys using social media to share her passion for skincare and makeup, along with honest reflections about her life and experiences. Recently, she recorded a video on her balcony candidly sharing her tattoo regrets — never expecting the impact it would have. The video quickly went viral, garnering nearly 7.4 million views and over 20,000 comments. Many viewers, like Locke, expressed regret over their own tattoos. "I've received a lot of love and, surprisingly, a lot of hate," she says. "Millions of people related to me and felt so alone in their regret. I've received so many private messages from people thanking me for speaking out. It's embarrassing. It's humbling. That's why no one talks about this, because no one wants to admit they made a permanent mistake on their body." "Regret is a normal feeling, especially when you've grown and matured into a better version of yourself," she adds. "Most of the hate I've received has come from within the tattoo community. I'll never understand how people can take my story and my feelings about my body as a personal attack on them or their tattoos." Despite the backlash, the positive responses have outweighed the negativity. "I've had a lot of parents and teachers reach out to tell me they plan to show my video to their kids, and that makes me incredibly happy." She adds, "[My friends and family] are all so proud of me! It's a big conversation and hard topic to discuss, especially in front of millions of people to watch and then criticize me for, and they are just so excited and proud of me." Looking back, Locke says that if she could go back in time, she wouldn't get a single tattoo. "I mentioned in my video that I wish someone had told me to wait, and honestly, I'm sure someone did. I probably just didn't listen," she says. "At 18, things go in one ear and out the other. But I wish more people had told me to slow down and really think about it. When you're young, you tend to ignore advice, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't keep trying to educate people about the long-term consequences." She adds, "A lot of kids and young adults — myself included — grow up thinking tattoos make you cool. But the truth is, you make yourself cool. Your uniqueness. Your sense of style. Your beautiful red curly hair! Your freckles! The gap between your teeth! Your sense of humor. Tattoos are cool, but they don't make someone cool. If a tattoo is something you truly want, just take the time to think long and hard about it." When it comes to what's next for her tattoos, Locke says she has no plans to cover them up. "For me, it's not about thinking the tattoos are ugly; I actually still think many of them are beautiful. I just don't want them on my body anymore," she says. "I've considered removal. In fact, I've done two sessions on my fingers. It was excruciatingly painful, and it's a very slow process. I've realized that removing these tattoos will take years and be incredibly expensive." "I am in no way shaming the tattoo community or anyone with tattoos, and I never will," she adds. "I am the most nonjudgmental person you will ever meet. I have so many friends and family members with tattoos and they are all amazing human beings. This is also not a message telling people not to get tattoos. Please just think it through and wait until you are older, once you have found yourself and your identity." Read the original article on People Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Diane von Furstenberg Announces Granddaughter Talita's Engagement
Originally appeared on E! Online Talita von Furstenberg might need her own custom DVF bridal gown. After all, the model's grandmother, fashion icon Diane von Furstenberg, announced that Talita and her longtime boyfriend Rocco Brignone are set to wed—and her ring is von fabulous. 'Talita and Rocco are ENGAGED!!!' Diane, 78, wrote on her July 31 Instagram post, which features a sweet photo of the couple glowing after the proposal. 'He proposed. She accepted! Join me in wishing them a happy joyful life together. LOVE is LIFE.' In the shot, Talita, 26—who is the eldest daughter of Alexandra Natasha Miller and her ex-husband Prince Alexander von Furstenberg—excitedly showed off her round-cut diamond ring while Rocco, 24, smiled in the background. More from E! Online Bachelor Nation's Madison Prewett and Husband Grant Troutt Share Plans to Spank Their Daughter Former NBA Player Danilo Gallinari's Pregnant Wife Attacked by Shark Savannah Chrisley Declares Lindsie Chrisley 'No Longer Family' Amid Years-Long Estrangement Talita also gushed over the engagement on her own Instagram shortly after, confirming that she and Rocco are in it for the long haul. In her post, the couple—who started dating in 2018—leaned in for a kiss while flaunting their summer couture. Both following a breezy theme, Talita wore a chic floral dress and her fiancé paired his white linen top with khaki pants. She captioned the post, 'Forever!!!!!!!!!!!! I love you so much my heart is bursting.' Her romantic bliss continued in her Instagram Stories, where she offered another glimpse at her stunning jewel. She later posed with the ring while relaxing on a boat, referring to herself as a 'wifey.'As for Talita's touching announcement, several celebrities showed the couple some love in the comments section. Fellow model Miranda Kerr simply wrote 'Congratulations,' while Olivia Jade shared her excitement with the crying and heart emojis. Cara Delevingne's older sister, Poppy Delevingne, also chimed in with her well wishes. 'Omg WOWWWWWW!' the 39-year-old commented. 'Congrats babygirl. Sooo happy for you lovebirds.' Talita and Rocco aren't the only stars set to head down the aisle soon. Keep reading to see other couples who elevated their romance this year… Talita von Furstenberg & Rocco BrignoneTyrese Haliburton & Jade JonesZac Brown & Kendra ScottVenus Williams & Andrea PretiVictoria Pedretti & Ethan DelorenzoUma Jammeh & Wil AndersonCoco Jones & Donovan MitchellWill Peltz & Kenya Kinski-JonesBecca Tilley & Hayley KiyokoKevin Connolly & Zulay HenaoKelly Osbourne & Sid WilsonPeter Kraus & Hana OstapchukJames Maslow & Caitlin SpearsCandice King & Steven KruegerAmy Slaton & Brian LovvornSimu Liu & Allison HsuCrystal Hefner & James WardLacey Schwimmer & Frankie MorenoRachel Uchitel & Dan DonovanTallulah Willis & Justin AceeJake Paul & Jutta LeerdamJacob Batalon & Veronica LeahovEste HaimLo Bosworth & Domenic "Dom" Natale For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News App Solve the daily Crossword
Vox
an hour ago
- Vox
Wow, that Sydney Sweeney jeans ad sure got people talking
is a culture writer who explains the figures and social trends that influence how we think about gender, image, relationships, wellness, and consumption. Previously, she wrote for the Daily Beast and contributed to several publications, including Vulture, W Magazine, and Bitch Media. Declaring that an actor has great jeans should technically be a boring way to sell denim. And yet, an American Eagle ad featuring Euphoria star Sydney Sweeney and some poorly conceived wordplay has broken everyone's brains. Last week, the mall brand unveiled a series of ads featuring Sweeney sporting their fall collection. One video shows her filming herself on the floor with a dog; another depicts her fixing the engine of a car. All of them end with a booming, male voice declaring 'Sydney Sweeney has great jeans,' with the copy displayed in large font. The spots that caught the internet's ire are arguably the most provocative, each an obvious riff on Brooke Shields' infamous 1980 Calvin Klein commercial, in which the then-15-year-old actor recites facts about genetics ('certain genes may…fade away,' Shields notes) while posing in the company's denim. The Sweeney ad plays on the same jeans/genes pun, but in a much clumsier fashion and in a very complicated cultural landscape. 'My body's composition is determined by my genes,' Sweeney starts in one video that's since been deleted from American Eagle's social media. The camera starts to zoom in on her chest before she lightly scolds the operator. 'Hey, eyes up here.' In another, she says, 'Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality, and even eye color.' The camera pans to Sweeney's eyes, and she says, 'My jeans are blue.' The same pun is used in a poster that reads 'Sydney Sweeney has great jeans' with the word 'genes' crossed out above it. It immediately raised questions about the language of the ad, as well as its blonde-haired, blue-eyed messenger: Are we supposed to want pants or Aryan features? In its most innocent interpretation, it reads as passe in its use of a 'conventionally attractive' spokesmodel. Many, however, have deemed the American Eagle ads a racist dog whistle, some even calling it Nazi propaganda. Meanwhile, voices on the right, including the White House, have celebrated the ads as a middle finger to liberals and 'woke.' The ads are…weird. Why bother buying the jeans if you don't have the genes it celebrates? Plus, Sweeney's role in it, given the partisan nonsense she's been drafted into in the recent past, raises an eyebrow. American Eagle has since clarified its intentions with the ads, stating that the marketing was solely meant to highlight the jeans. 'We'll continue to celebrate how everyone wears their AE jeans with confidence, their way,' read an Instagram statement on August 1. Sweeney has yet to respond. Regardless, the whole kerfuffle says less about Sweeney herself — or even American Eagle's marketing team — than about the politically fraught state of media in the US. A lightning rod on the left and a symbol — voluntary or not — for the right To comprehend the layers of the controversy, one has to understand the politically charged and paradoxical nature of Sweeney's image and career thus far. After landing supporting roles in The Handmaid's Tale and Sharp Objects, Sweeney received her big break on the HBO teen drama Euphoria in 2019 as self-destructive teenager Cassie Howard. Her role on the show, which often sees her character nude or wearing cleavage-baring tops, has contributed to much of Euphoria's seedy reputation, while also shaping Sweeney's bombshell image. The show also helped launch her as an aspiring 'prestige' actor; her performance earned critical praise, as well as an Emmy nomination in 2022. She earned an additional nomination that year for her role in HBO's The White Lotus. This acclaim was followed by the release of the 2023 romantic-comedy Anyone But You, which she starred in opposite Glen Powell and co-produced. The Shakespeare adaptation was marketed with PR-orchestrated rumors about Sweeney and Powell's relationship and went on to earn over $200 million globally. By all accounts, it seemed poised to be the next big movie star, with all the makings of a savvy entrepreneur. Then, around 2024, things started to get strange — and loudly. That year, Sweeney hosted Saturday Night Live. The episode featured several jokes about her breasts, and she wore a low-cut dress during 'goodnights.' This elicited multiple op-eds from conservative outlets claiming that Sweeney, and her willingness to participate in gags about her own sex appeal, signaled a return to both a pre-MeToo climate and 'traditional' beauty standards. In fact, this wasn't the first time Sweeney had been linked to conservative ideology, correctly or incorrectly. In 2022, she sparked outrage for photos she posted from her mother's Western-themed birthday party, which showed relatives wearing MAGA hats and Blue Lives Matter gear in the background. She claimed they were merely ironic costumes, an explanation that failed to quell questions about her political leanings. 'I think her and her camp probably think that they're playing into [her sexuality] with a wink and a smile and being self-aware about her being consumed as this sex object and that she is in control,' says Garrett Mireles, a New York and Tennessee-based brand strategist and copywriter. 'How that's received in the public eye isn't as nuanced.' Related How Republicans became the party of raunch Mireles says the fact that Sweeney is an actor cast in other people's work and ideas complicates her ability to control the way her image comes across and who exactly she wants to appeal to. 'Sweeney doesn't get to control the message as much as a musician does,' Mireles says. 'Sabrina Carpenter, for example, is able to exert a sense of humor in her sexuality and to be a little bit more overtly tongue-in-cheek.' Everything feels like bait in our current culture war The American Eagle ads felt especially trollish because they seemed to hit on both of the accusations looming over Sweeney's career: She's too sexualized, and she's promoting some sort of right-wing agenda. In this case, the right-coded overtones of the ad — heralding a blonde, white woman's genes as the epitome of beauty and 'goodness' — hit a lot harder. Any implication of 'good genes,' pun or not, would ring alarms in our political climate. Currently, ICE and the Trump administration have undertaken the most aggressive deportation effort in years, including the gleeful construction of an alligator-surrounded detainment center that has been compared to a concentration camp. When talking about crimes committed by immigrants, President Donald Trump has said there are a 'lot of bad genes in our country.' Meanwhile, Health Department secretary Robert F. Kennedy has been accused of promoting 'soft eugenics' through his proposals to eliminate vaccines and lifesaving health services that would disproportionately impact certain populations. Outside of politics, pop culture is also feeling a lot more Trump-friendly these days. From country artists dominating the charts from trad-wife content online to celebrities cozying up to the president, it seems like everyone is embracing the reign of MAGA and the tastes of his voter base. This has made every piece of pop culture, from influencers to ad campaigns, fodder for viewing through a MAGA lens. At the same time, the right has made efforts to insert itself into cultural moments and ephemera, from animation memes to superhero-movie discourse. More and more regular people are vigilant about the way pop culture can be used to push political messages. But it can be difficult to know what does and doesn't deserve our energy and cultural attention. Still, it's hard not to feel like we've all been effectively 'got' by a brand that most of us haven't thought about since high school, one that has not sparked this much fervent discussion in its entire existence. But even American Eagle might not have put as much thought into the ads as its critics did. Peter Bray, founder and executive creative director at advertising agency Bray & Co, says the American Eagle ad may be more innocent than we assume, the result of a 'first thought' concept as opposed to anything intentionally controversial. 'I don't think in any way this was their intent,' Bray says. 'They thought they had a lightbulb moment of creativity and didn't think about the bigger cultural picture.'
