‘OITNB’ Star Laura Prepon Debuts Baby in NYC

Laura Prepon and her baby daughter were seen out and about in public on Monday for the first time since the Orange Is The New Black star gave birth last year.

Prepon and Ben Foster had their first child in the summer of 2017. Yet, despite being entertainment royalty, the baby girl has led a remarkably private life up until now. Prepon was photographed carrying her through New York City‘s East Village on Monday, Foster strolling along beside them. The pictures were published on DailyMail.

Prepon wore a sling holding her baby against her front. The youngster was bundled up tight in furry-looking boots, pants, sweater and hat, with a hood pulled up for extra protection against the biting wind. Prepon herself wore a long tan coat and a gray beanie, and Foster sported a black leather jacket.

Rumors about a romance between Prepon and Foster first began to circulate in July of 2016. By October, they were publicly an item, and they announced their engagement at a red carpet event.

The couple announced that they were expecting a child in January of 2017.

Beyond that, the couple has kept their personal life and that of their new daughter extremely private. Many speculate that it has to do with their ties to the Church of Scientology. Prepon herself is an avowed Scientologist, according to an interview she gave with the church-affiliate Celebrity Magazine.

In addition, Prepon and Foster reportedly met through Prepon’s That 70s Show co-star Danny Masterson, who identifies publicly as a Scientologist. According to a report by SheKnows, Foster’s family is also full of church members, meaning that he has several affiliations with the controversial religious organization.

Many outlets have posited that the church might be the reason the couple has kept their relationship so private, though Prepon herself had no problem describing her experience with the philosophy.

“Honestly, I’ve become more me,” she told Celebrity in 2015. “The auditing has stripped away all of this charge, false ideas, decisions and mis-emotions that were affecting me. I recently had one of my biggest cognitions in a New Era Dianetics session. I spotted this decision I made a long time ago that was affecting me to this day. It was a huge realization. At the time of the incident, you make a postulate as a ‘pro-survival’ decision, you know? Then to spot it years and years later, after peeling away these layers and then—boom, there it is—it’s mind blowing! To think of it just hiding there in my bank, affecting me.”

The church has been heavily criticized in the last several years, and faced a particular PR storm with the recent revelations in Leah Remini’s docu-series, exposing the organizations inner workings.