Montana Brown has given “a lot of thought” to how her heritage and race will affect her unborn baby.
The pregnant Love Island star, 27, admitted she sometimes forgets where she’s from after growing up in “predominantly white areas” as she took to her Instagram Stories on New Year’s Day to share her thoughts.
The TV personality announced on Christmas Eve that she is pregnant with her first child with boyfriend Mark O’Connor and has now said expecting a child has spurred her to address issues of racial inequality.
Real conversation: Montana Brown has admitted she’s thinking about how her heritage and race will affect her unborn baby, revealing she sometimes forgets where she came from after growing up in “predominantly white areas”.
Montana shared a snap of her blossoming baby bump while getting candid as she shared her thoughts on race and parenting.
She wrote: “So excited for this new year, so many feelings running through my head at midnight. I’m so excited and can’t wait for this new chapter.
“I am grateful for this year and everything it has brought into our lives. It’s so crazy how your body changes and something so special grows. I feel very blessed knowing that for many people it is not possible.
“I also feel like I’m growing a lot as a person and my values are changing. I see much more meaning in what is going on in the world and how we can make the world a better place on an individual level.
Good news: The Love Islander announced on Christmas Eve that she is pregnant with her first child with boyfriend Mark O’Connor
“I would like to do more for racial inequality. Sometimes I forget where I’m from as I’ve been raised in mostly white areas my whole life!
“Especially since I’m pregnant; I’ve thought a lot about my race, where I come from, and how it will affect my child.
“It’s crazy how you really look inward when you’re bringing life into the world, and I realized I still have a lot of self-development and work ahead of me.”
Alex is close to her mother Sarah but I know who my father is but admitted in 2017 that her father is not in her life.
She told The Sun at the time: “I have no relationship whatsoever with him. I grew up without him. I don’t want to make up with him at all.’
Mom: Montana’s mom’s name is Sarah (pictured 2017)
Montana’s candid Instagram post comes after the reality star revealed she was “so shocked” to find out she was expecting when she did what she tried to conceive earlier in the year, but it didn’t happen.
The Love Islander took to Instagram to do a Q&A as she shared how she and Beau Mark struggled to conceive due to their low estrogen levels.
She was then surprised to get pregnant by the end of the year as they “hardly had sex” due to other factors such as her dislocated knee.
Montana explained in her story, when asked if her pregnancy was planned, “Yes it was planned, I didn’t realize I was pregnant for ages as we tried earlier in the year and it didn’t happen.
“Then I had a bunch of tests done and found that I had really low estrogen and testosterone levels, which really surprised me. So I just thought it would take us a lot longer.
Journey: It comes after Montana admitted she was surprised to get pregnant at the end of the year as she and Mark “barely had sex” due to factors including her dislocated knee.
“Then I went to Vietnam and did a TV show, then I came back and it just happened, so it was unexpected but yeah it was planned.
She added: “When I first found out I was so shocked I just refused to tell Mark I wouldn’t take a test, I’m not pregnant, but he pushed me to do it.
“I had a dislocated knee, my body was under stress and we hardly had sex that month, while before we really tried to use ovulation sticks, so I thought it was impossible.
“Unless we can get pregnant by looking at each other, then it just wasn’t likely, but I was over the moon – it was such a nice surprise.
Fertility: When asked if her pregnancy was planned, Montana said, “Yes it was planned, I didn’t realize I was pregnant for ages as we tried earlier in the year and it didn’t happen.”
“We tried a bit but I wish I had done all the tests earlier as I had low estrogen levels so I was put on supplements as otherwise it would have been impossible.”
Answering another question from a follower, she explained what her first symptoms were: “I first realized when I was having stomach cramps and throwing up and I was having hot sweats.
“For the first three weeks that was the exercise and I was up every night and in excruciating pain like stabbing pains and so I didn’t think I was pregnant as I was in pain – I thought I had appendicitis or appendicitis gallstone.”
Montana went on to talk about how her body changed during the early stages of her pregnancy.
Q&A: She added, “When I first found out I was so shocked I just refused to tell Mark I wouldn’t take a test, I’m not pregnant, but he pushed me to do it.”
The beauty said: “I have such a newfound respect for my body, it’s amazing how the human body creates life, so I feel like I’m just giving my body love and respect, but it’s changing, I really had an inflamed lymph node and my boobs have gotten really big and my belly is growing and I’m in awe.
Montana took to Instagram on Christmas Eve to share the happy news of her pregnancy with her 1.2million followers.
She shared a video montage documenting the early stages of her pregnancy, including her and her boyfriend grinning with their pregnancy test.
New chapter: Montana continued to talk about how her body changed in the early stages of her pregnancy
In her caption, she wrote: “Baby O’Connor is coming next summer [white heart, baby emoji].’
Other clips in the Post saw the reality star undergoing an ultrasound and Mark lounging on the beach as he cradled her stomach during a recent getaway.
Montana was seen cradling a young child, whose identity is unknown, before writing “Baby O’Connor” in the sand.
Back in January 2021, the influencer was spotted taking a leisurely-looking stroll on the beaches of Barbados with the Ealing native.
Loved: Montana took to Instagram on Christmas Eve to share the happy news of her pregnancy with her 1.2million followers
Shortly after, sources confirmed to Web that Mark, 27, was dating the brunette beauty and that the couple met through his gym.
According to a pal, Mark is a property manager who attended Cardiff University and Henly Business School.
The source said: “He played rugby for Chiswick and Wales 1st teams as a prop and has an ownership interest in Forge Gym London. That’s probably how he got to know Montana.
“He used to be out of shape and is in great shape now. He’s a very wild guy to go out with at night, he drinks a lot. It’s a lot of fun to be with him.’
Expecting: She shared a video montage documenting the early stages of her pregnancy, including her and her boyfriend grinning with their pregnancy test
The source added, “His father owns a huge development/construction company that he will inherit.”
Montana looked cozy with her companion as they were seen putting their arms around each other on the beach.
After their walk in the sand, the two were spotted arriving at the posh Lone Star restaurant in St James Parish.
Back in June, Montana revealed she was planning to take her potential date for a walk while chatting with her friend Joanna Chimonides on FUBAR Radio.
Montana, who split from Elliott Reeder in January 2020 after two years together, said: “We have a light at the end of the tunnel, okay.
“This guy, we’re going for a walk, and he was like, ‘I’m going to pick you up.’ He lives quite far away from me and where we are going is not near me.
“He says, ‘No, I’ll pick you up. I’ll come and pick you up. do you have any allergies
“I was like, ‘Will you marry me?!’
New arrival: In her caption, she wrote: “Baby O’Connor is coming next summer [white heart, baby emoji]’ as she showed off her midsection in a white bikini