Another cutie for Cory Wharton! The Challenge alum welcomed his third baby, his second with Taylor Selfridge, on June 1.
The reality star, 31, announced the news via Instagram on Friday, June 10. “Maya Grace Wharton,” he began in his caption alongside several photos of the newborn. “Don’t really know how to start this off there’s sooo much I wanna say, so much I’ve felt over the past week. As a parent you’re, scared, worried, nervous, angry, sad, mad & you don’t understand why this is happening to your baby.”
Wharton went on to explain that Maya was diagnosed with tricuspid atresia, which is a heart defect that interferes with the organ’s ability to pump blood. “Maya had her first successful surgery on Tuesday and now she’s in the recovery process,” the MTV personality explained. “She is doing very well, we can’t wait to bring her home 🏠 & show her the love that she needs.”
Maya will need additional surgeries when she’s between 4 and 6 months old and later when she’s 3 or 4 years old, but for now, the family is “trying to stay positive” after the first successful procedure. “Daddy loves you so much, you are so strong,” Wharton continued. “Everyday visiting you in Nicu isn’t easy but if that’s what it takes then we are gonna do that. We are always right by your side.”
In her own Instagram post about Maya’s birth, Selfridge, 27, revealed that she found out about the congenital heart defect when she was 22 weeks pregnant. “Our lives turned upside down in a matter of seconds,” she wrote on Friday. “Maya had her first procedure at 6 days old. … My first time really holding her was at 5 days old. The last 9 days have been a complete rollercoaster for us and the most challenging week I’ve had as a mother thus far.”
The couple announced in March that the Oregon native was pregnant. “My whole life I knew I was meant to be a mother, I love my babies more than anything in this world,” the reality star wrote of her “new little peanut” at the time. “My heart grew twice the size, and I knew I’d love you just the same as your sisters. I can’t wait to see your little face (even though you’ll look nothing like me and only daddy).”
Wharton added in a post of his own: “Taylor, I don’t know too many people to put up with me for as long as you have, but no seriously, I love you baby and I can’t wait to start this adventure with you and continue to build this family up.”
The Michigan native became a dad in April 2017 when his ex Cheyenne Floyd gave birth to Ryder, now 5, but the Real World alum did not find out that he was her father for a few months. Since then, Wharton has been amicably coparenting with the Teen Mom OG star, 29.
“As long as we’re communicating and Ryder’s happy, that’s all we really care about,” Floyd exclusively told Us Weekly in January of their dynamic. “That’s very evident. Ryder lives her best life. She’s fine, so we’re fine.”
While the Los Angeles native has moved on with fiancé Zach Davis, welcoming son Ace in May 2021, Wharton began dating Selfridge in 2018. The pair revealed in December of the following that they were expecting twins.
Selfridge lost one of the babies to “vanishing twin syndrome,” writing via Instagram at the time: “We went in for a check-up on our baby and they had found a separate empty sac. … But on the positive side, my baby is healthy.”
Mila arrived in April 2020. “Ryder waited up extra late to hear the good news,” Floyd captioned an Instagram video of the toddler dancing in her diaper at the time. “God is good she’s so excited. After she FaceTime[d] @corywharton_ig and sister it [was] turn-up time.”
Ryder taught Selfridge “so much” ahead of Mila’s arrival, the Washington State University grad told her Instagram followers earlier that same month.
“She is so smart and loving with the funniest little personality,” she gushed at the time. “I’m so happy I get to be a part of your life. I can’t wait to see you as a big sister! You are so loved.”
