Ellie Goulding Expecting First Child With Husband Caspar Jopling

Grammy award-nominated singer/songwriter Ellie Goulding is pregnant. Goulding opened up about expecting her first child with husband Caspar Jopling for Vogue, saying that she and her husband were caught by surprise at the revelation. “That was [around] the time when Caspar and I went away briefly when we were allowed to for our one-year anniversary, and that’s basically when we found out. It was crazy because it was our one-year anniversary. That was not the plan,” she said.

She and Jopling married in August 2019, one year after they became engaged. “The thought of getting pregnant didn’t seem like it could be a reality. Becoming pregnant kind of made me feel human. I want a better word than womanly, [but] I have curves I’ve never had before. I’m enjoying it. My husband’s enjoying it,” she added.

At first, she says she didn’t accept her new condition –– which is something to be expected when you’re having an unexpected pregnancy during a most unprecedented time amid a pandemic. “You’re still eating the same, looking the same, for a while I was probably in denial. I was in such a good streak of fitness,” Goulding explained. “[Then] I started having a completely different body and different energy, I couldn’t deal with everything.” She continued, “I actually went from being smug about how healthy my salads were and my breakfasts and eating nuts and seeds, and then all I wanted was McDonalds… And I was kind of terrified, I suddenly wanted all of the bad things! Whatever this baby did when it took over my body was like, Hell no—I do not want broccoli, spinach, collards! I just wanted sugar and carbs.”

The pandemic has also forced the “Love Me Like You Do” singer to self-reflect during her time of isolation. “You have your partner, and you have your friends, but in a pandemic, it can feel particularly lonely,” Goulding explains. “Because it wasn’t something I had planned for right now, [and] I knew it was a more solitary journey because of what’s going on. I think that made me keep it very secretive and made me very protective over it. The sickness and tiredness was nothing I’d ever experienced before. I feel like it’s a taboo to talk about pregnancy as being challenging. It’s not always serene and like you’re not always glowing. I’m not saying that every second of this pregnancy has been miserable. It’s not always going to be easy. [But,] I have a newfound respect for any woman who has children.”

As far as the baby’s gender is concerned, Goulding also says she has no plans to host a gender reveal. “It’s not a focus for me,” she says. “We found out by default because we had a scan. [But,] it wasn’t a thing. We just wanted a healthy baby and there wasn’t much more to it. Instinctively, the whole gender reveal is not my thing.” Instead, she’s focusing on being a working mom. “I’m excited to be a mother—but also I want to make sure that I continue to work,” she adds. “I can’t wait to go back on tour. I’ve been in the studio most days, [and] I’m excited for the challenge. It will be a totally new experience.”