‘American Idol’ Alums Gabby Barrett and Cade Foehner Expecting First Child Together

American Idol not only turns unknown singers into stars, but it can also bring couples together. Gabby Barrett and Cade Foehner, who met on the show in 2018 and married the following year, are now expecting their first child. Barrett, 20 and Foehner, 24, said the baby girl is due early next year. Foehner discovered she was pregnant in May, the couple told PEOPLE Sunday.

The two are “very excited” to welcome their bundle of joy soon, Barrett told the magazine. “The Lord has blessed us with a little one, and we’re really excited to finally be able to share the news with everybody and just have a big old family celebration about it,” she added. Barrett said the two found out she was pregnant while visiting Foehner’s family in Texas. She took a pregnancy test and was completely surprised to see the positive result. “I started crying, and it was very sweet,” she said.

While the news was a surprise, Barrett said the two always wanted to have children, from the moment they got married. The coronavirus pandemic hastened their plans. “We started trying pretty much at the start of the whole pandemic,” Barrett said. “It happened pretty quickly. We were expecting it to take a little while, and it seemed like the first try that it happened, so we were just so excited. We were blown away that it worked so quickly. But yes, we were starting to plan on it, for sure.”

Barrett said it was challenging to be pregnant during the pandemic, adding that it was “really sad” to go to some doctor’s appointments without her husband. However, if that’s what they have to do to keep their baby safe, they will. “We’ve just been trying to find ways to really work with it because that’s all we can do at this point,” she said. Aside from that situation, her pregnancy has gone well so far, aside from “the stereotypical pickle craving.”

The couple also shared their pregnancy news with friends and fans on Instagram, sharing the exclusive photos PEOPLE published. “I have the most amazing Wife in the world,” Foehner wrote in his post. “I can’t possibly come up with strong enough words to honor her as she has honored me in giving me a baby girl! Praise the Lord our God!”

Barrett and Foehner both appeared on American Idol Season 16, the show’s first on ABC. Barrett came in third place and has already scored Billboard Hot 100 hit with “I Hope.” She released her first album, Goldmine, in June. Foehner finished in the Top 5. The two got engaged in March 2019 and married in October.