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Emmy Russell and her partner, fellow singer-songwriter Tyler Ward, shared an update from the hospital after Baby No. 1’s arrival.
The former American Idol contestant welcomed her first child early Friday morning (January 31). On Sunday evening (February 2), Ward recorded and posted a video update on Russell’s behalf. He said the new parents “just wanted to update everybody. Emmy can’t post, so I’m posting on her behalf. We got to the hospital Wednesday evening (January 29) when Emmy’s water broke, gave birth Friday morning at 2:30 a.m., and it was a really, really tough situation. And she’s still here in the hospital.”
Ward said Russell was nearly discharged, but Russell said Sunday evening she’d been feeling “woozy,” and was told she’d have to get a blood transfusion. She said “we’re gonna test again,” as she cradled the couple’s newborn baby in her hospital bed. Ward shared the update to Russell’s Instagram account, and wrote in the caption, “prayers welcomed 🙏”
Ward was first to share that Baby No. 1 was born. He shared a clip of himself rocking his newborn daughter on Friday evening, when she was just 12 hours old. He’s since shared another glimpse of Baby No. 1 at 36 hours old. On Thursday evening (January 3), Russell shared a rare glimpse of her relationship with Ward. She reminisced on some of the moments she and Ward have shared together as she marked “the last night it’s just us. …Tonight us, tomorrow parents. Can’t wait to see who you are as a dad and who I am as a mom, but know I’ll always cherish when it was just us 🤍”
Russell, 26, announced that she and Ward, 40, were expecting their first child together when s he and her mother, Patsy Russell, were guests on a live-recorded podcast episode. The mother-daughter duo joined host Jennifer Vickery Smith for a conversation on Got It From My Momma on Music Row in Nashville, Tennessee.
“Y’all, me and Tyler are expecting a baby girl,” Russell announced to the audience as she publicly debuted her baby bump for the first time. Ward briefly joined her on stage as the crowd celebrated on behalf of the first-time parents. Russell gushed as she caught up with Vickery Smith during the podcast episode: “I’m so excited. Right out of American Idol, I didn’t know. So, you know, that’s kind of been the journey. So I’m so excited. I’m so looking forward to it. …This is the first time I’m actually fully announcing that. I thought it was fitting for this.”
Russell, whose grandmother is late legend Loretta Lynn, is one of several artists welcoming baby in 2025. In January, Dan + Shay star Shay Mooney welcomed Baby No. 4, and rising singer-songwriter Sarahbeth Taite welcomed Baby No. 2. Others expecting a child this year include Lauren Alaina, Jordan Davis, Sam Hunt and more. See the list of pregnancy announcements here.