The Influencer And Mental Wellness Advocate Gets Candid About First Trimester Struggles, Body Image, And The Partner Who Never Blinks
Two months after announcing their first pregnancy, Tay Lautner, registered nurse, mental wellness advocate, and wife of actor Taylor Lautner, is speaking with striking honesty about what expecting a child actually feels like, and the husband who has made it more bearable.
Tay’s candid comments, shared on her co-hosted podcast The Squeeze and in recent interviews, have sparked a wave of responses from women who say they finally feel seen. Her willingness to name the hard parts of pregnancy, without apology, is reshaping the conversation around what expectant mothers are allowed to feel.
“I Don’t Think I Like Being Pregnant”
Nausea, severe acid reflux, body image struggles, and hormone-fueled emotional meltdowns defined Tay’s first trimester. Keeping the pregnancy private during those early weeks added another layer of isolation to an already difficult stretch. When she finally spoke about it publicly, she didn’t soften the message.
“I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t that,” she told listeners on The Squeeze. “I hate saying it, but I don’t think I like being pregnant.”
She also described the mental and physical weight of those early months, telling the podcast, “I was trying to adjust to my changing body while keeping the pregnancy private. The first trimester was especially hard. That’s when everything kind of hit me mentally and physically.”
Pushing Back Against The “Grateful” Narrative
Part of what makes Tay’s honesty so striking is her direct challenge to the social pressure placed on pregnant women to perform gratitude at all times. She addressed that pressure head-on, telling The Squeeze, “I think a lot of women don’t feel like they can say that. People are quick to judge. ‘You’re ungrateful. There are so many women who would kill to be pregnant.’ But both can be true. I can be over the moon that I’m having a baby… and also really not like how my body feels.”
The response from her audience confirmed she had touched a nerve. “I’m so thankful that I made the decision to open up about my pregnancy because I’ve never had so many DMs from other pregnant women and moms,” she said. “The biggest response was about body image. So many women related to what I said about the adjustment.”
How Taylor Lautner Has Shown Up
Throughout the physical and emotional turbulence, Taylor Lautner has been a consistent presence. Tay has detailed her husband’s steady support during pregnancy, offering fans a warm and specific picture of how he shows up in everyday moments.
“Through everything, it’s been really awesome to have a partner who genuinely wants to help,” she said on The Squeeze. “If I ask him to put ice in my Stanley for the 15th time in two hours, he doesn’t even blink an eye.”
She also shared a text exchange that captured the dynamic perfectly. During one emotional meltdown, she messaged Taylor to warn him: “If you were awake, I probably would have just cussed you out for no reason.” His reply, she recounted, was simply: “And that would have been totally fine.”
Pregnancy, Advocacy, And A Bigger Purpose
Tay’s experience carrying her first child has deepened her commitment to mental health advocacy through The Lemons Foundation. A recent trip to Washington, D.C., with RAINN for its Congressional Day of Action took on new personal weight given her pregnancy.
“Now that I’m bringing a child into the world, I want to make sure these safety precautions are set for this new generation,” she said. “It’s opened my eyes.”
She has also leaned on a community of pregnant friends, sharing everything from safe food questions to comfort clothing tips, describing the group chats as a lifeline. “We pretty much share anything and everything. It’s mainly like: Can we eat this? Can I do this? Is anyone else swollen here?”
Baby Names And What Comes Next
Beyond the physical challenges, the couple is now navigating one of pregnancy’s more delightful pressures: choosing a name. “Deciding to have a child is the first biggest decision ever, and the second is naming your child,” Tay said. “There are so many names to choose from. It’s definitely high pressure.”
The Lautners are among a wave of celebrity couples expecting in 2026, a year that has seen pregnancy announcements from Natalie Portman, Princess Eugenie, Barbara Palvin, and others. But few have used their platform to speak as openly about the unglamorous side of the experience as Tay has.
Tay Lautner isn’t the first person to find pregnancy difficult, but she may be one of the most effective at saying so out loud.
At a time when social media still rewards the curated, glowing version of expectant motherhood, her refusal to perform happiness is a genuine act of advocacy. For parents who want to talk honestly with their kids about emotions and self-image, her example is a useful one: naming what you actually feel, even when it’s uncomfortable, is not ingratitude. It’s honesty.
