Hailey Bieber Opens Up About ‘Emotional’ Moments During Pregnancy & Trying to ‘Soak In’ Alone Time With Justin Bieber

Hailey Bieber is gearing up for motherhood, and the model opened up about her pregnancy journey for a new W Magazine cover story.

“I probably could have hid it until the end, but I didn’t enjoy the stress of not being able to enjoy my pregnancy outwardly,” she explained of announcing her pregnancy at the six-month mark. “I felt like I was hiding this big secret, and it didn’t feel good. I wanted the freedom to go out and live my life.”

Since the beginning of her relationship with husband, Justin Bieber, Hailey has been dealing with online scrutiny — something she says hasn’t gotten easier, especially in pregnancy. “People have made me feel so bad about my relationship since day one. ‘Oh, they’re falling apart. They hate each other. They’re getting divorced.’ It’s like people don’t want to believe that we’re happy,” she said. “I used to try to act like it hurts less and less. I’ve tried to think that you get used to it at a certain point, that this is what’s going to be said and this is how people are going to be. But I realize that it doesn’t actually ever hurt any less.”

To help, she’s actually been savoring time with Justin before the baby arrives. “In the beginning [of pregnancy], it was super emotional for me,” she recalled. “Like, ‘I love this human so much. How can I possibly bring someone else into this?’ I’m trying to soak in these days of it being Justin and me, just the two of us.”

The “Love Yourself” singer and Rhode founder announced that they are expecting their first child together back in May, when they took to Instagram to share a series of photos and videos from a film shoot they did among a vast meadow, in which Hailey is seen wearing a skin-tight lace gown, cradling her growing baby bump as Justin snaps photos of her. In one of the clips, the couple also renewed their vows.

The couple officially wed in September 2018 at a New York City courthouse. A year later, they flew down to the Montage Palmetto Bluff hotel in South Carolina with their friends and family for a more traditional wedding ceremony and star-studded party.

This article was originally published by Billboard U.S.