“Secretly Pregnant” gives viewers cause for pregnant pause

by Karl J. Paloucek
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Oh, what a concept for a show. If you haven’t already checked out our Fall Preview, you might not have seen one of the more controversy-laden series that’s due to premiere in the coming weeks. Discovery Fit & Health’s Secretly Pregnant premieres Oct. 13, but the show’s premise and its ads have both already been rattling viewers. Each episode looks at a pair of women who, by various means and for various reasons, have hidden the news of their pregnancies from family, friends, boyfriends, bosses, and others.

What has people in an uproar is the fact that the mothers-to-be of Secretly Pregnant invite camera crews — and therefore, the general public — into their living rooms, parents’ homes or wherever to be there for the big announcement, and to capture the reaction from the unsuspecting parties.

Any way you cut it, that’s a lot for a person to swallow, especially on national television. But it’s the hook for this program, and one that is already luring people in and getting them talking. Some damn the series for its exploitative nature, but even in the comments of our preview for the show, some who allegedly have taken part in the show or are connected to those who have, have chimed in to defend it, arguing that not everybody ends up on the show for the oft-cited reasons of shame.

Let’s take a look at the outlines for the first couple of episodes and see:

Secretly Pregnant: “Krystal/Danie” (Oct. 13)

In the premiere episode, Krystal and her fiancé Brandon have been keeping the big news that they’re expecting their second child together from Krystal’s mother, fearful of her reaction due to the fact that Krystal and Brandon have been living in a motel and are barely getting by as it is on Brandon’s military disability benefits. In a slight twist on the story that everyone’s expecting, Danie got pregnant out of wedlock and was afraid to tell her father. He wasn’t part of her life when she was growing up, so she’s afraid that he’ll bolt on his granddaughter.

Secretly Pregnant: “Carmen/Jerline” (Oct. 20)

Both women in this episode already have toddlers to care for, and neither was prepared for a new addition. Carmen is expecting her new baby with a married man with whom she’s had an affair, but is so ashamed to be going through this trial a second time, so she’s keeping it a secret from those around her. Jerline and her husband have been living with her mother, depending on her for financial support. Out of work and out of money, they may never have the resources to move out on their own before the baby arrives.

So far, it looks like scandal plays a pretty strong role in the lure of this series, but we’ll reserve true judgment until we see how exactly these and other stories are presented. Stay tuned.

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Photo: Discovery Fit & Health