Chrissy Teigen and John Legend are opening up about the grieving process after suffering their pregnancy loss and sharing how they are now helping others.
Teigen first shared sad news of her pregnancy loss at 20 weeks on Instagram Sept. 30, posting a series of heartbreaking black-and-white photos of herself and Legend in the hospital with their late son, whom they named Jack. In their first TV interview since the loss on Tuesday, the couple virtually appeared on Good Morning America detailing their experience co-host Michael Strahan.
The pair — who share daughter Luna Simone, 4½, and son Miles Theodore, 2 — also spoke about how they are teaming up with Ronald McDonald House Charities, supporting families with sick and injured children by providing resources and helping them stay together during treatment.
"Wanting the best for your children and wanting to keep families together, for us, is insanely important," Teigen, 34, said. "… What they're doing is so incredible and so beautiful, and … I am so proud to support it."
Legend and Teigen announced the initiative on Instagram, explaining that if Instagram users post the RMHC heart and the hashtag #HereForRMHC, McDonald’s will give $100 in the person's name as part of a $100 million commitment.
"Anyone who knows us, knows that the most important thing to us is family. When you're able to lean on loved ones, the hard times always get a little easier," the couple said in a statement. "We can't imagine how agonizing it must be when you're not able to be there with your sick child. We were inspired by McDonald's longtime commitment to RMHC, and now we want the world to know how we can all take action to support this amazing charity through the #HereForRMHC challenge."
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John Legend Got a Matching 'Jack' Tattoo with Wife Chrissy Teigen in Honor of Their Late Son
Elsewhere in the GMA interview, Teigen talked about grieving the couple's loss, saying, "I definitely give myself permission to have complete and utter grief. Every day is so different, so when people ask me how I'm doing, I always say, 'I'm okay, today.' "
"I didn't know that we could experience this grief and also share it, but when we did, it really meant so much to so many people and it was such a powerful experience for me to learn that," Legend, 41, said. "I'm just grateful that my wife was courageous enough to do it."
"… Obviously it's so painful to go through something like this as a woman," added Teigen, "something that was inside your body that you were nurturing and taking care of, but obviously there's a father involved, and the support for the both of us has been so beautiful, so incredible."
In an emotional essay published last month, Teigen recalled what it was like taking the black-and-white photos that she shared on Instagram, which showed her and Legend in the hospital room with their late baby. She wrote that she "explained to a very hesitant John that I needed [the photos], and that I did NOT want to have to ever ask. That he just had to do it."
Chrissy Teigen Talks Pregnancy Loss, Explains Why John Legend Was 'Hesitant' to Get Son's Pictures
"He hated it. I could tell," Teigen wrote. "It didn't make sense to him at the time. But I knew I needed to know of this moment forever, the same way I needed to remember us kissing at the end of the aisle, the same way I needed to remember our tears of joy after Luna and Miles. And I absolutely knew I needed to share this story."
As for those who might have something negative to say about the pictures: "I cannot express how little I care that you hate the photos. How little I care that it's something you wouldn't have done," Teigen added.
"I lived it, I chose to do it, and more than anything, these photos aren't for anyone but the people who have lived this or are curious enough to wonder what something like this is like," she wrote. "These photos are only for the people who need them. The thoughts of others do not matter to me."
Teigen concluded by explaining that she wrote the essay "because I knew for me I needed to say something before I could move on from this and return back to life, so I truly thank you for allowing me to do so."
"Jack will always be loved, explained to our kids as existing in the wind and trees and the butterflies they see," she said. "Thank you so much to every single person who has had us in their thoughts or gone as far as to send us your love and stories. We are so incredibly lucky."
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