*** CAUTION: Contains Potential Spoilers for Overseas Readers ***
FOLLOW-UP Congratulations Melissa!
BY DC CUEVA
Going into 2020, this was going to be the year of the baby in MTV Family: those who you have seen on The Challenge, Real World, Are You The One?, Ex On The Beach, Teen Mom and Siesta Key becoming parents. And while there's been plenty of those so far and more good news like this to come, none of us had any idea that this would be taking place during a challenging time of us in a pandemic and other goings on. But nonetheless, there's always something to smile about and to celebrate whenever those who we've enjoyed on our TV's gets to welcome a new kid into their world.
The British invasion of The Challenge that started on Vendettas two years ago has been nothing short of a success in injecting some much needed blood into this show, as seventeen players in total have crossed the pond into our American living rooms. They've also packed into their suitcases the reality formats Love Island, Just Tattoo of Us and Ex On The Beach, which have a home in the ViacomCBS family and where the ladder has given us not only a tabloid-friendly U.S. version of MTV's most distributed international franchise, but also a number of stellar U.K. challengers who have their made mark on our biggest major pro sport going on right now.
As we are halfway through the current season of Total Madness -- that is, as those of us here are watching it, the game has turned in its head with all of the twists that have been laid down by T.J. Lavin, as well as a Brit finding himself in a romance with a returning Challenger, and the never-ending fascination between two of our defending champions with an English accent. That, among other things, have seen those who would normally have more camera time have to play the role of second fiddle to them having the surprise Bananas/Wes alliance and the Big Brother kids getting face time... and we'd only see a handful of those during the daily challenges and eliminations.
This season has definitely been a totally different story for Melissa: the drama she would usually bring to the table has surprisingly been absent thanks to everyone else getting the attention in the extended episodes. With the exception of her standing by Kyle in the midst of his fight in the bar with Nelson this past week, we've really only seen her during the competition itself. Her being able to focus on just that has seen her impress a lot of us in being able to expand upon what she got to do as a rookie but didn't the last time out... and the 2019 she had off has certainly helped.
Being able to take advantage of her small size to excel in the Fast & Furious truck challenge with Johnny Bananas is proof that Mel may be one to watch as we head into the business end this week. With just one past champion and two veterans left in the field for the women, along with others like her with less than three seasons under their belt, there's a better chance now than at the start of this that Mel may slip into the marathon for £807,430 ($1 million US) - and that will depend upon how things shape up the rest of the way and who might get any of the remaining skulls needed to join the finals party come summertime. If she does, it would be her second time being in a final - the first serving as a mercenary turned Vegas card dealer during the last act of Vendettas.
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| Twitter/Instagram @DJMelReeves |
While those in America marked the start of this presumptively lost summer with Memorial Day at home, those in Britain also had a long 3-day weekend with the late May Bank Holiday Monday off. And while most everyone had nowhere to go to, Melissa was spending time at the hospital to prepare to go into labor for the last hours of her nine-month pregnancy which, like everyone else who has had to go through this since March, takes place in the midst of the coronavirus crisis.
And a week ago last Sunday after being in labor for three days starting just after Episode 8 aired in America the previous Wednesday, she got to welcome her new bundle of joy. Mel waited until the following day for her to make the announcement on social media, and she captioned on Instagram @DJMelReeves, "24/05/2020 My world changed forever 💞 my baby girl arrived right on her due date 💗 words can’t describe how in love with this little angel I am. I feel so happy and blessed. 👶🏼 🍼 I was in labour for 3 days, then we had to opt for a C section because it turns out she is one big baby, she’s 8lb 11!!"
She added afterwards, "I had a sweep & my midwife told me I was already 2cm dilated. I've had every sign of labour except for my waters haven't broken & my contractions are irregular. They were regular enough to keep me awake most of the night but I am still only in the early stages of labour."
Jenny led the Instagram congratulatory messages, "Wow Melissa CONGRATULATIONS she is Perfect!!!! Oh my god I'm so so happy for you and so beyond excited meet her! 💕💕💞💕💞💕 Sending you and your gorgeous girl lots of love 🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗," while another EOTB alum who has also become a mom herself, UK Series 1 original & a Series 5 castmate of Mel's Chloe Goodman from the Southeast of England chimed in, "So proud of you 💜🤩😍 love you to pieces sis xx our babies are gunna be bestiessss @djmelreeves."
A few days after, Mel posted a second IG pic where while she was recovering, she also shared her thoughts on why this pregnancy has been different than usual during this time of social distancing: "As much as I’m absolutely loving having her all to myself whilst staying in hospital It’s also been really hard not being able to have any visitor’s because of #coronavirus. It’s sad that our loved ones haven’t even been able to meet her yet. We did have a Simba moment at the hospital window so my dad could meet his granddaughter. As nice as it was for him to be able to see her, I felt so bad on him that he can’t meet her yet and give her a cuddle. I feel like Iv been living in my own bubble since she was born. I can’t put into words how happy & blessed I feel to have her. I just sit and stare at her in awe of how perfect she is. I feel so lucky. She really is the love of my life ❤️."
As is sometimes the case, there's also the question of, "Who is the father?" Word is, that man is 13-year English football veteran Danny Simpson who, like Mel, was born in the Greater Manchester Area, briefly played with Manchester United and had short stints with four other clubs in England & Belgium around two lengthy spells with Newcastle United and Leicester City. It was in the ladder that Simpson, a fullback, played a role in the Foxes' unlikely run to the 2015-16 Premier League title and earned a winner's medal after being shifted midseason to a starting role. He now plays for Huddlesford Town in the second tier of the pyramid, the EFL Championship, and currently lie three points clear of the relegation zone when play resumes later this month after the COVID closure.
For that they had a short relationship a few years back, Danny's identity as the dad of Mel's baby was inadvertently revealed on an ultrasound picture in her Instagram Stories back in March. That hasn't yet been confirmed by both parents though it was by friends of theirs & sources to the British tabloids, who also report that he's pledged to help her out any way he can in the co-parenting process while keeping it private. And this is the second time Simpson has become a dad - but it comes with controversy: he shares custody of an 8-year-old daughter with an ex-girlfriend who he assaulted over the Christmas holidays in 2015 and was found guilty of the charges but escaped time behind bars.
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| IG @DJMelReeves |
And in a YouTube follow-up video posted on Sunday, the new mom recalled the whole experience again where she felt scared but that would go away once she heard the sound of her newborn, and she could finally take a breath. Following delivery, doctors took their temperature and Melissa had developed a fever of over 103°F (39°C) and the new girl had also developed a higher temperature than normal as they discovered that the mom had a bout with sepsis, or blood poisoning.
As a precaution, they stayed longer than planned after taking antibiotics before finally making the trek back home. Fortunately a week after this life-changing moment, Melissa & the new baby are now resting comfortably after that last week of this experience that was all worth it in the end... and who knows? The baby could be set for life in a decent paycheck if her mom continues her impressive return. We'll see... but for now, we send our congratulations to Melissa.
- I AM DC
#DCBLOG
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