Country Duo Haley & Michaels Announce They’re Expecting a Baby Girl

Congratulations are in order for husband and wife country duo Haley & Michaels, who announced this week that they’re expecting a baby girl. Shannon Haley and Ryan Michaels shared their happy news with PEOPLE, revealing that their daughter is due in October. The couple’s Star Wars-themed announcement photo featured the proud parents-to-be wearing Darth Vader shirts that read “I am your father” and “I am your mother” and holding up a tiny onesie that read “Baby Jedi.”

“It’s been such a blessing,” said Michaels, reflecting on his wife’s pregnancy amid the coronavirus pandemic. “We’re spiritual people, and we believe that we all come into the world at the right time, and it’s a gift to have this now.”

Haley and Michaels married in 2015 and shared that while they have long planned to be parents, the pregnancy news was a total surprise. They found out after Haley came down with a fever in January and went to a walk-in clinic, where she was told that she had the flu and was pregnant.

“It was this rush of complete joy that instantly hit me,” Haley recalled. “But Ryan just kept saying, ‘We are? We are?’ And then he asked, ‘Can I hug her?’”

“I didn’t know if I would make the flu worse!” Michaels said. “I was so shocked. The thing is, we had certainly talked this year about having a baby, but it was the furthest thing from our minds when we went to the clinic, and we hadn’t really been trying very long.”

Haley recently entered her second trimester and the couple is currently working on a Star Wars-themed nursery with their downtime amid the pandemic.

“A lot of Star Wars bedding is the Death Star,” Haley joked, “and I just don’t want the Death Star in my daughter’s room!”

Along with decorating, the pair has been sharing their news with those close to them, which Michaels revealed was a shock to his family.

“I’ve been driven, as far as music, for so long that I think some of my family members started to just assume that I was talking about how we wanted to have kids, but that it was probably never going to happen,” he said. “My mom was in complete and total shock over it. It was so fun to tell her.”

“Just with the limited number of friends and the people on our team that we’ve told, everyone’s just been wonderful,” Michaels continued. “We are so excited to let everybody else know because we’ve had so much love and support from fans and friends online. They’re kind of waiting to hear what’s next, and so now they know!”

Photo Credit: Getty / Desiree Navarro