‘The Vampire Diaries’ Actress Reveals ‘Overwhelming’ Miscarriage Fears Amid Third Pregnancy

“The Vampire Diaries” actress Claire Holt said that she felt an “overwhelming wave of anxiety” after learning that she was pregnant with her third child — a feeling she attributed to her 2018 miscarriage.

Holt, 34, shared the news of her pregnancy in a Friday blog post at “The Corner by Claire Holt,” and said that she had noticed the same feelings during her previous pregnancies with son James (4) and daughter Elle (2).

 

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“I started to imagine who this little person would be and how excited I was to have another one, and then I was hit with an overwhelming wave of anxiety. I guess that’s what happens after miscarriage,” Holt wrote.

Holt went on to describe just how that anxiety had presented, adding, “It was the same with James (to the absolute extreme), it was there during my pregnancy with Elle (albeit a little less intense) and I found myself experiencing it again this time,” she said. “I took multiple tests each day to make sure the line was getting darker. My google searches switched to miscarriage statistics and signs of loss.”

“The Originals” actress said that she had expected to feel more hopeful — especially after she had had two healthy pregnancies after the miscarriage – but that it hadn’t turned out that way.

I often wonder what it must be like to go through a pregnancy without worrying that something will take your baby from you. Without waiting for bad news at every appointment,” she explained, adding, “I never really let myself get too excited, as if it would somehow protect me from the pain if something weren’t right. It’s a sad way to experience something so beautiful, but I guess it’s human nature to want to shield yourself from heartache.”

Holt shared the news of her miscarriage in a heartbreaking Instagram post, saying, “I took this photo 10 days ago, as I waited for surgery after my sweet little baby lost its heartbeat. I sent it to my fiancé in the waiting room to show him that I was ok. I wasn’t. I’ve never felt more broken in my life. I debated sharing this so soon and I’m still frightened about making such a private struggle public, but I’m doing it anyway because it’s important.”

“I was desperate to find someone, anyone, who could relate to what I was feeling. Someone to tell me that the depression and hopelessness were normal. That it wasn’t my fault. That I wasn’t broken forever,” she added, saying that she had eventually found a community of women who had been through the same experience. “It breaks my heart to think that losing a baby feels like something we have to keep to ourselves. Why is it any different than the death of a loved one? How is it any less meaningful? Here is what I have learned as I begin to crawl out of the dark hole: support is everything.”

 

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Comedian Jay Leno Says There’s Only One Thing That Could Make Him Retire

Comedian Jay Leno has been through a lot in the last year, but he said on Saturday that even after all of that, there’s only one thing that could force him to retire: a stroke.

Leno, who appeared on Saturday at a kick-off event for his upcoming NBC reality show “Hot Wheels: Ultimate Challenge,” told fans that he would likely slow down if and when he ever suffered a stroke.

“Then you slow down,” he said. “That’s when you retire — when you have your stroke.”

The former “Tonight Show” host has been seriously injured in two serious accidents in the last year alone — just weeks apart — and has continued to perform even amid his ongoing recovery.

The first accident was an explosion and fire in his Los Angeles garage that caused third-degree burns to his face and hands. Leno had been attempting to repair a fuel line in his 1907 White Steam Car at the time – and he later said that his friend Dave’s quick response was what ultimately saved his life. Dave, who was with Leno when the gasoline ignited, smothered the flames.

The comedian spent several days in the hospital, where he was treated with skin grafts and some time in a hyperbaric chamber.

Within a week of his discharge from the hospital, he was back onstage performing stand-up for a sold-out crowd in Hermosa Beach, California.

Just two months later, Leno, 73, suffered several broken bones in a motorcycle accident. He only revealed the news after being asked by the Las Vegas Review-Journal how his recovery from the burns was progressing, at which point he said, “That was the first accident. OK? Then just last week, I got knocked off my motorcycle. So I’ve got a broken collarbone. I’ve got two broken ribs. I’ve got two cracked kneecaps.”

“I’m OK!” Leno told the apparently shocked interviewer. “I’m OK, I’m working. I’m working this weekend.”