Halsey on Letting Go of the Expectations She Had For Pregnancy: “I Didn’t Take My Prenatals”

Halsey thought her experience of pregnancy would be fairly different than her reality over the last nine or so months. Like many people, Halsey had certain expectations for what life would look like as a pregnant person, but in an interview with Allure, the singer nearly immediately admitted, “I didn’t take my prenatals,” which didn’t necessarily align with the vision she initially had in her head. But spoiler: both versions of pregnancy are A-OK!

“When this pregnancy started, I was like, ‘You’re going to do yoga and eat flaxseed. You’re going to use essential oils and hypnobirth and meditate and f*cking journal every single day,'” the 26-year-old said. “I have done none of those things. Zero. None. I eat cookies and had a bagel every single day for the first five months of my pregnancy.”

Halsey first announced she was expecting in January, sharing a series of photos featuring a growing bump to Instagram. However, the first trimester of her pregnancy perhaps wasn’t as glamorous as the gorgeous photo shoot would suggest. After a rough period of feeling sick, Halsey had to make a decision for her own health, something that she was worried she’d be judged for.

“I took them the first two months, and then the vomiting got really bad, and I had to make a choice between taking my prenatals and throwing up or maintaining the nutrients I did manage to eat that day,” she said of taking prenatal vitamins. “I was on so many medications – Diclegis and Zofran and all these anti-nausea, anti-vomiting medications. I went to my doctor, crying my eyes out, and I was like, ‘I haven’t taken my prenatals in six weeks. Is my baby okay?’ I was so angry with myself. You have one f*cking job! One job! Take your prenatals! Your body’s doing everything else, you can’t even do that. I felt like such a failure.”

And while feeling that type of internal pressure can unfortunately be commonplace during pregnancy – especially the first time around – Halsey’s doctor gave the singer reassurance that both she and baby are healthy.

Halsey is expecting her first child with partner Alev Aydin, who she was friends with for a handful of years before realizing that things between them had become more serious. “When the stars aligned, our relationship became romantic and it was pretty evident that he and I were both like, ‘Oh, my gosh! You’re the person I’m supposed to start a family with.'”

And while we’re thrilled for Halsey and Alev as they start that family, the singer alluded to keeping their baby’s life on the private side. “Nobody knew I was dating someone,” Halsey said of her relationship with Alev. “As if people were entitled to an update, like, ‘I’ve met someone, we’re going on dates, it’s getting serious, they’ve moved in, we’re planning a child, we are having a baby, we had a baby, this is the gender . . .’ I signed up to give my whole life away; my loved ones didn’t.”