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Emmy Russell attends the 2023 CMT Music Awards at Moody Center on April 2, 2023 in Austin, Texas
Congratulations are in order Emmy Russel!
The American Idol finalist, 25, revealed she is pregnant and expecting her first child with partner and fellow singer Tyler Ward, 40.
Russell, the granddaughter of the iconic country singer Loretta Lynnshared the news during a live recording of the Received from my mother podcast with her mother, Patsy.
Host Jennifer Vickery Smith teased the reveal, telling the audience, “Emmy Rose has some special news to share tonight.”
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Emmy Russel; Loretta Lynn
Russell then said, “You guys, Tyler and I are expecting a baby girl.”
As the audience cheered, Ward rushed on stage to lovingly hug Russell and place his hands on her baby bump.
The singer further said that she did not know the news when she performed American Idol.
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“I’m so excited to get out right away American Idol – I didn’t know. So, you know, that’s been kind of the journey,” she said. “I’m so excited.”
Russell and Ward have kept their relationship a secret, aside from a few social media posts.
On November 5, Ward shared a photo Instagram of him and Russell next to vice president Kamala Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff during a visit to the White House.
“Had the privilege of meeting @kamalaharris and her husband at the White House this year! It was surreal. Kamala was very sweet,” he captioned the post. “You might be wondering, how the heck did this happen? Because @emmyroserussell is a superstar and was personally invited to perform. What about me? Well…I’m just her arm candy.”
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He and Russell shared a collaboration Instagram post in June with two glamorous mirror selfies of them.
“Classified. For now…,” they wrote in the caption.
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Russell competed on season 22 of American Idol and reached the Top 5. She auditioned with her heartfelt original song “Skinny” and sang covers of “All the Small Things” by Blink-182“The Climb” on Miley Cyrus and “I Can’t Make You Love Me” by Bonnie Raitt.
The singer also notably covered her late grandmother Lynn’s hit “Coal Miner’s Daughter.”
Disney/Eric McCandless
Emmy Russell on ‘American Idol’
Speaking to PEOPLE in an exclusive interview Speaking about her song ‘Skinny’ – inspired by her own struggles with disordered eating – in April, she said: “I struggled a lot with the pressures of physical beauty and social media. Growing up in the spotlight, I was always very image-conscious.”
Russell felt motivated to write the song when she realized how many other people could relate to her experience.
“When I saw 80 to 70 million people struggling with food, I thought, ‘What? I’m not alone. I need to sing about it,’” she said.
Read the original article People