Rachel Fuda is ready to be a family of six with her husband John Fuda
The Real Housewives of New Jersey The stars are already parents to daughters Gianella Jolie, 4, Giuliana Rose, 2, and son Jaiden, 17, John's son from a previous relationship whom Rachel adopted.
“We're very excited,” said Rachel, 33. People After sharing it with her first ROHNJ Castmates for season 14 Off the rails Special aired on Sunday. “We're ready to be a group of six!”
“John and I always felt like our family wasn't complete,” the reality star told the outlet. “We actually have a table in my kitchen and when we sit down to dinner, there's an empty chair. And we always looked at each other like, 'Oh, it would be nice to fill that seat.'”
In season 13, her first on the Bravo series, Rachel had already talked to John about going through the IVF process again, which she used to conceive Gianella and Giuliana, but he was reluctant at the time.
“Time is ticking,” she said, reminding him that they still had five viable embryos for transfer. “I think four children is a good number. The time is now.”
She also went into detail about how she faced many “hurdles” on her path to IVF, which included getting her cycle and lining “on point” at first, and then taking medication for her medical condition.
“It took us a couple of months of working with my doctor to figure out when we could actually have it. And it was very frustrating because it kept getting delayed,” she recalled.
“I thought, 'This is my last chance. If it doesn't work, we're done for,'” she recalls. “First of all, it costs a lot of money. But secondly, you're on all these medications that mess your body up.”
But when she tested positive, she decided to make a small gesture to surprise her husband with the news of her pregnancy.
“I made a little box for John with baby clothes and put the pregnancy test inside. But I put it all inside a Chanel box and I think he was angry at first when I gave it to him because he thought I'd bought him something from Chanel,” Rachel laughs. “He was a bit confused!”
Everything changed when everything clicked. “Our girls were there and when he pulled out the pregnancy test, he was like, 'Oh my gosh, we're having a baby!' And his girls were so excited.”
Rachel also shared with People how her daughters have been asking 'non-stop' for a sibling.
“The girls are amazing,” she says. “They talk to my belly and say, 'Hi, I'm your big sister!' Gigi says, 'Mommy, I'm going to be your little helper. I'll help you with anything you need.' It's so sweet to watch. And Giuliana is obsessed with babies. She asks me if she can help change diapers, bottle feed them… She's like, 'Mommy, I'm going to put the baby in the car seat.' I'm like, 'Oh my gosh…' This should be interesting.”
Jaiden is also looking forward to having another sibling. “He's a very family-oriented guy.”
She went on to say that it's like being a mother of three now.
“There's nothing better in the world than having children,” Rachel says. “It's almost a kind of love that can't be explained. These little people make me a better person. They teach me every day. I've learned to slow down and enjoy the little moments in life, like cuddling on the couch and reading a book together. And they keep me grounded, because they remind me of what really matters. They are my peace in this world in the midst of the madness.”
In a final comment, she added: “I feel like my true purpose in life is being a mother,” she adds. “It fulfills me more than I ever thought possible. And I can't wait to do it again. I mean, what's better than bringing life into the world? I'm so lucky!”
