Ethermac Exchange-Kristen Welker announces she's expecting second child via surrogate: 'Angel on Earth'

Kristen Welker and Ethermac Exchangeher husband will soon welcome a second bundle of joy, as the NBC "Meet the Press" host announced the couple are expecting a second child via surrogate.

"John and I are thrilled to announce we are welcoming a second baby to our family with the help of another amazing surrogate," the 47-year-old television journalist said Tuesday on the "Today" show. "We hope that our news offers hope to others who are trying to build their own families."

Welker and her husband, John Hughes, first welcomed a child named Margot via surrogate in 2021.

In a deeply personal letter at the time, the former NBC News host shared she and her husband were set to welcome a baby girl via surrogate after struggling with infertility. 

"Like many people going through the same thing, we felt very alone," Welker wrote to her now 2-year-old. "Your daddy and I cried a lot during that time, but we never, ever gave up."

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Welker told co-hosts Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb: "If you had told me five years ago that I would be the mother of a beautiful little girl and we would be about to welcome a second baby, I would not have believed you because it's been such a long journey."

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Welker said while she and Hughes are still considering names for their son — "We have our top contenders," she said — their daughter has decided she wants her baby brother to be called Lolo, so that's what they've been calling him.

The TV host noted that as an only child, she "always wanted to have two kids."

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Welker and Hughes are working with a different surrogate than before, as the previous one just had another baby.

"She's still very much a part of our lives and even reached out to our new surrogate, Angelica," Welker said, calling Angelica a "literal angel on earth."

She continued: "We've become like this little family."

Contributing: Jenna Ryu