‘The right thing to do’: John Legend on Chrissy Teigen’s baby loss post

It is something he had not spoken publically about, but now John Legend has revealed he’s glad that his wife Chrissy Teigen opened up publicly about their grief following the tragic loss of their son Jack last year.

In October 2020, the couple revealed that their unborn baby boy had died at 20 weeks, with the 35-year-old model deciding to share intimate pictures from the hospital of their final moments with their son on Instagram. At the time, Teigen was criticised by some for opting to make such a private moment so public.

In an essay for Medium, she explained why she needed to share what happened and why she chose to post photographs alongside her words.

“I absolutely knew I needed to share this story. 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. 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. These photos are only for the people who need them. The thoughts of others do not matter to me,” she wrote.

Her husband says now, though he was initially skeptical of the move that he sees his wife made the right choice as her sharing of grief helped so many others.

He recently told CBS This Morning he is now “so glad” that she spoke out so candidly about the couple’s tragedy as he believes it was “the right thing to do”.

“What I learned through that process was, first of all, how often this happens to so many other families,” he said. “We felt a real sense of community by sharing it with other people. They felt seen by us, we felt seen by them, and I think it helps everyone deal with their grief when they know that there are other people out there who are feeling it.”

A help to others

“I am so glad Chrissy’s instinct was to share this, because it was really the right thing to do. It helped us get through it, and I think it helped other families who are going through the same thing get through it. People feel such shame [when going through similar] and they feel lonely, and I think we helped people feel less lonely.”

“I feel bad our grief was so public because I made the joy so public. I was excited to share our news with the world… But the moments of kindness have been nothing short of beautiful… The worst part is knowing there are so many women that won’t get these quiet moments of joy from strangers. I beg you to please share your stories and to please be kind to those pouring their hearts out. Be kind in general, as some won’t pour them out at all,” she said.