Another little one for JJ Lane! The Bachelorette alum welcomed his second baby, his first with wife Kayla Lane (née Hughes), on Thursday, July 21.
“We had the baby girl last night at 8:16 p.m.,” the duo exclusively told Us Weekly on Friday, July 22. “She’s so perfect.”
The Bachelor Nation member, 39, and the former NFL cheerleader, 29, added that the “healthy and precious” little one — who weighed in at 7 pounds, 10 ounces — is named Nelle Eden. “We have been in newborn bliss,” the couple gushed to Us. “We are so excited and feel extremely blessed to be able to welcome Nelle Eden Lane into our family!”
JJ also praised his wife’s mom skills, telling Us: “Seeing Kayla hold Nelle for the first time was an amazingly emotional experience and she is already such an incredible mom!”
Kayla, for her part, revealed how incredible the experience has been for her. “We are so in love with our sweet babe. Her labor was a dream and we couldn’t be more excited for this next chapter of our lives. JJ is already a pro dad and I couldn’t be in love more with him taking care of our little girl,” she told Us.
The newborn’s “biggest fan,” however, may be her big sister, Gemma, who is JJ’s daughter from a previous relationship.
“She has been so loving and doting with her and can’t wait for her to get old enough so she can teach her all about the Avalanche Stanley Cup championship!” the couple told Us of the 10-year-old.
Days before the birth, the twosome visited Garden of the Gods park in Colorado Springs with Gemma. “Last day as a family of 3,” Kayla wrote via Instagram on Tuesday, July 19, alongside sweet snaps from the picturesque trip.
JJ first became a dad in December 2011 before appearing on season 11 of The Bachelorette, where he competed for Kaitlyn Bristowe‘s heart. After starring on season 2 of Bachelor in Paradise, the Colorado native moved on with Kayla.
The duo got engaged in July 2019, two years after going public with their relationship. “She said YES!!!” the former reality star wrote via Instagram after proposing to his girlfriend. “I can’t wait to marry my best friend, my love, and the woman that has made me better since the day we met!”
Kayla added in a post of her own that JJ is her “best friend,” gushing, “Does this ring make me look…. ENGAGED??!!! I said yes to the man of my dreams.”
In February 2020, the bride walked down the aisle. JJ celebrated the second anniversary of their Colorado wedding on social media with an Instagram photo from their Hawaii babymoon.
“Technically it’s not our anniversary since we were married on leap day, but so I don’t sleep on the couch … happy anniversary babe!” the former investor told his Instagram followers at the time.
Kayla joked that the photo he chose “might be a couch offense” in the comments, writing, “Of alllll the pictures you pick the one where I hiked the Napali coast with my hair down. Love you.”
The sweet social media exchange came two months after Kayla announced her pregnancy news with ultrasound photos.
“The best gift wasn’t under the tree this year,” she wrote via Instagram in December 2021. “Littlest Lane coming July 2022.” In his own post, the former ABC personality joked that he and his wife “won’t be able to unwrap” their gift until July.
The couple documented their sex reveal the following month in the same place that JJ proposed. Kayla used a pink luau skirt and balloons of the same color to announce that a baby girl was on the way.
JJ gushed about his then-pregnant wife in April, writing via Instagram: “Been an incredible journey the last five years and has supported me through thick and thin, been a phenomenal stepmom, and is going to be the BEST mom to our baby girl!”