Michelle Kwan Gives Birth to First Baby and Shares Photo of Daughter
Michelle Kwan said it best: "I'm always full of surprises."
The former Olympic figure skater revealed she gave birth to her first child, a daughter named Kalista Belle Kwan.
"I'm overjoyed and tears of happiness are streaming down my face as I share the news," Michelle wrote in an Instagram post on Wednesday, Jan. 5. "I've always wanted to be a mom and, to me, she's a perfect miracle."
The 41-year-old athlete reflected, "I had a hard time picturing what she might look like yet it seems like she's been in my life forever. This has been a challenging journey to motherhood (not to mention a very long labor!!!) and I'm glad I never gave up."
"As people closest to me know, I'm always full of surprises and tend to keep my personal life private," Michelle continued. "And, I've wanted to share this happy news for many months but each milestone seemed to be exciting and daunting at the same time."
In addition to sharing the first photo of her little girl, Michelle also posted a montage of her growing baby bump over the past nine months.
"I feel so grateful to have had the support of so many during this time, including doctors and nurses who looked after me, friends that shared their stories, and of course, my family & my [heart emoji] who I could not live without," Michelle wrote, without naming her love.
She married Coast Guard lieutenant Clay Pell in 2013 and he filed for divorce in 2017. The final judgement was filed in Rhode Island in October of that year and the case is closed, according to the docket obtained by E! News.
Michelle ended her note by sending her love to fellow moms, shouting out "anyone trying to conceive in any which way (ivf, iui, surrogacy, adoption and naturally)" and wishing them "all the success and love." She added, "You're not alone on this path and I'm pulling for you."
Michelle, who won an Olympic silver medal in 1998 and bronze in 2002, recently spoke with E! News about her time at the competition.
"I stress out even thinking about what the athletes are going through!" she said last summer ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. "It's such an emotional, two week experience because you envision this since you were a baby. Seven years old is when I first started to dream of going to the Olympic Games and then 10 years later I was there. For those 10 years I didn't think of anything else."
Read more of her conversation with E! News here.