Vanessa Morgan is expanding her family! The Riverdale actress shared on Instagram that she and her boyfriend, James Karnik, are expecting their first child together, a baby girl. Vanessa posted a series of photos to announce the happy news. The first photo in the carousel shows James carrying Vanessa with one arm and cradling her baby bump with the other hand. In the second photo, Vanessa offers a clear shot of her baby bump. The maternal photoshoot also includes black and white photos of the couple walking through a grassy field as they smile and gaze into each other’s eyes.
In her caption, Vanessa shared her excitement for what’s to come for the couple. “So in love with this man, our family of 4 coming this month,” she captioned the post. “🤰🏽#2 🫶🏽 Surprise! Thank you GOD.” On his Instagram page, James shared a black and white photo of him holding Vanessa, which he captioned, “Holdin BOTH my girls at the same time.”
Vanessa shares a son, River, with ex-husband Michael Kopech, whom she split from in 2020. They got engaged in July 2019 and tied the knot in early January 2020 before calling it quits six months later. Some two years later, Vanessa began dating James, a former Boston College star and professional basketball player in Canada’s Elite Basketball League.
Vanessa shared earlier this year on the Broad Ideas podcast that although Michael remains in River’s life, James has become a constant presence in River’s life. “At least [River] will always know that my partner now has been there from what he will remember, as the beginning,” Vanessa said of James. “They’re together every single day… he looks at him like a father figure.”
The 32-year-old actress, known for starring as Toni Topaz in The CW teen drama series Riverdale, already has a son, River, three, with her ex-husband Michael Kopech. She took to social media on Saturday to reveal that she and her new partner James Karnik are expecting a baby. She wrote on Instagram: “So in love with this man, our family of 4 coming this month. Surprise! Thank you GOD!”
The first time around, Vanessa also announced her pregnancy news via Instagram but admitted that she had been considering keeping the whole thing out of the public eye. She said back in July: “Was debating keeping this part of my life hidden but I knew people would see pictures eventually with my belly I wanted you guys to hear it from me. I do want to keep this chapter of my life private but did want to be the first to share the news.”
Vanessa and Michael announced via a representative that they had split up, just days after sharing that their little boy was on the way. The Finding Carter star did not go into detail about why she and Michael split, but noted at the time she had to “mourn the future” she had planned for the pair of them. She said: “It doesn’t always go as planned and it’s the journey. It ended up being the biggest blessing of my life, but in the moment, it’s so painful. You mourn the future that never happened. You mourn the fantasy that you created, and that wasn’t the reality that was the best alignment for me.”
Despite their split, Michael was present at the birth, and an insider insisted that “all was well” amid the situation. A source told E! News at the time: “Vanessa had the baby, and Michael is with her as well. They’re both thrilled.”
Vanessa Morgan is expecting. The Riverdale star took to Instagram to share the big news to announce her pregnancy and the gender of her baby: A boy. Friday’s post included photos and videos from what appeared to be a gender reveal party, positive pregnancy tests, and even an ultrasound video. It will be Morgan’s first child with her husband Michael Kopech, a pitcher for the Chicago White Sox, who opted out of the 2020 season earlier this month.
“Was debating keeping this part of my life hidden but I knew people would see pictures eventually with my belly & I wanted you guys to hear it from me,” she wrote on Instagram. “I do want to keep this chapter of my life private but did want to be the first to share the news.” She continued, noting that she is overjoyed to be welcoming her baby boy into the world in January of next year. And while she hasn’t given birth yet, motherhood has already had an impact on her outlook on life.
“It’s almost like everything I thought mattered in this life has completely changed,” she wrote on Instagram. “We’re here for such a greater purpose and life is so precious. I can’t believe how much growth & strength you’ve already given me as your mom. It’s like God knew I needed you, my angel.” Morgan added that she felt the pregnancy was meant to be. “The universe works in mysterious ways but always times everything the way it was meant to be,” she wrote. “Lil one you were made with so much love & already exude a light so strong it warms my belly. Thank you God for this blessing.”
She “can’t wait” to dedicate each day to be the best mother to her son. “I’m just so happy,” she wrote, including a quote from Robert Munsch’s “Love You Forever.” “I’ll love you forever I’ll like you for always as long as I’m living my baby you’ll be 🎶 “- if you know you know #preggers,” she concluded. Morgan’s post was met with a flurry of well-wishes from co-stars, friends, and fans and garnered nearly two million likes less than 24 hours after being posted.
Camila Mendes, who stars in Riverdale with Morgan, commented shortly after Morgan shared the news. “Omg Vanessa!!! 😍 so excited for you. congrats boo ♥️” So did Lili Reinhart, who commented three flower emojis below the post. Marisol Nichols, another Riverdale colleague, commented too: “Yes!!!! You’re gonna be an amazing mom!!!”
Morgan and Kopech married on Jan. 4 at the Historic Walton House in Homestead, Florida, according to the actress’s Instagram. “01/04/20,” she wrote. “Married my Prince.”
Vanessa Morgan is opening up about her split from ex-husband Michael Kopech. The actress credited her son for being the reason she didn’t speak about the breakup as it was happening, though she did acknowledge how “painful” the ordeal truly was. Speaking about her son River, who she welcomed with Michael Kopech, Vanessa Morgan stated: “I believe when you feed into the gossip, it just makes things worse… I chose for my son’s peace to stay silent.”
She continued: “I thought that was the best choice for me and my family. I don’t want my son to grow up seeing the truth.” In case you’re unfamiliar, Morgan and Kopech tied the knot in 2020 and were married around six months before the baseball player filed for divorce. Shortly before the breakup hit the news, the Riverdale star reportedly announced in a solo post that she was expecting her first child, opting not to mention Kopech and fueling breakup speculations. While neither has shared specifics about the split, Morgan did express how much hurt she carried “mourning” the end of her marriage. She stated: “I went through two years of pain…It’s almost like we idolize what our dream reality [was] from when we were a kid … [then] you mourn the future that never happened. You mourn the fantasy that you created, and that wasn’t the reality that was the best alignment for me.”
Adding: “You get married, and you want to kind of have that fantasy…I think it’s almost like you feel disappointed to tell people that it didn’t work out.” Elsewhere in the interview, Morgan insisted that she doesn’t want to look at herself as “the victim” and has been happily embracing being a single mother. She has since moved on to a relationship with basketball player James Karnik while Kopech recently welcomed his second child with girlfriend Morgan Eudy.
The actress also stated her ex is still active in their son’s life, though he admittedly doesn’t get to see him often.
Source: E! News, Broad Ideas Podcast, Instagram
