Rachel Fuda is ready to be a family of six with husband John Fuda
The Real Housewives of New Jersey stars are already parents to daughters Gianella Jolie, 4, Giuliana Rose, 2, and son Jaiden, 17, John’s child from a previous relationship whom Rachel adopted.
"We're so excited," Rachel, 33, told People after first sharing it with her RHONJ castmates on season 14 Off the Rails special, which aired Sunday. "We're ready to be a party of six!"
"John and I always felt like our family wasn't complete," the outlet quoted the reality star saying. "We actually have a table in my kitchen and when we sit down for dinner, there's one empty chair. And we always kind of looked at each other like, 'Oh, it'd be nice to fill that seat.'"
In season 13, her first on the Bravo series, Rachel had already spoken to John about going again through the process of IVF, which she used to conceive Gianella and Giuliana but he was reluctant at the time.
"The clock is ticking," she said then, reminding him that they had five embryos still viable for transfer. "I just feel like, four kids, that's a good number. The time is now."
She also went into the details as she faced a lot of ‘roadblocks’ in her IVF journey, which included getting her cycle and lining 'on point' at first, and then taking medications for her medical condition.
"It took a couple months of us working with my doctor to figure out when this could actually happen for us. And it was really frustrating because it just kept getting delayed." She recalled.
"I thought, 'This is my last shot. If this doesn't work, we're done,' " she recalls. "Because first of all, it costs a lot of money. But second of all, you're on all these medications that just throw your body off."
But when she tested positive, she decided to do a little gesture to surprise her husband with the pregnancy news.
"I made a little box for John of a little baby's outfit and I put the pregnancy test in there. But I put all of it inside of a Chanel box and I think he was mad at first when I gave it to him because he thought that I bought something for him at Chanel," Rachel laughs. "He was kind of confused!"
That changed once it clicked. "Our girls were there and once he pulled out the pregnancy test he was like, 'Oh my God, we're having a baby!' And there girls were so excited."
Rachel also shared with People, how her daughters have been asking 'nonstop' for a sibling.
"The girls are over the top," she says. "They're talking to my belly like, 'Hi, I'm your big sister!' Gigi's like, 'Mommy, I'm going to be your little helper. Anything you need, I'll help you.' It's really sweet to see. And Giuliana, she's obsessed with babies. She's asking if she can help change diapers, feed the baby bottles... she was like, 'Mom, I'm going to carry the baby in the car seat.' I'm like, 'Oh, dear God...' So this should be interesting."
Jaiden, too, is looking forward to having another sibling. "He's such a family kid."
She went on about how it's been like already being a mother of three.
"There's truly no better feeling in the world than having kids," Rachel says. "It's almost a type of love that you just can't explain. Like, these little people make me a better person. They teach me every day. I've learned to slow down and just enjoy the small moments in life, like cuddling on the couch and reading a book together. And it keeps me grounded, because they remind me of what actually matters. They are my peace in this world amid the craziness."
In a concluding remark, she added,"I feel like my true purpose in life is being a mom," 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 to bring life into the world? How lucky am I?"
