KJ Smith and her husband, Skyh Black, are expecting their first child together.

Smith, who is five months pregnant, recently opened up in an interview with Essence about her surprise journey to motherhood. For years, Smith didn’t think having children was in the cards due to her ongoing battle with fibroids and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

“People told me the number one symptom of [PCOS is] infertility. Perhaps I had convinced myself that I didn’t want to have children because I knew that, so I had completely taken myself out of the motherhood race,” she says.

At one point, she even consulted with a fertility specialist to explore IVF options. But fate had other plans.

“I had an appointment to go back to that fertility specialist who told me I was infertile,” she recalled. “I had an appointment in January to go back to that fertility specialist and start my IVF treatments, and I found out I was pregnant on January 19, 2025.”

Smith admitted the news was especially surprising considering she had convinced herself that she “didn’t want kids at all and “aspired to be a rich auntie”.

Meeting Black shifted her perspective. “I did not meet my husband until well into my 30s, so I had already decided. And then when he came into my life, and you meet a man who is responsible and a leader who takes charge and wants to be a father, wants to have a family, my mind changed as we grew and as we became a couple and married.”

She continued, “He [Black] was the main reason I wanted a child. I said, ‘This would be a good experience with you as my partner and husband.’ So I didn’t anticipate having kids at all, and now I want as many as I can have.”

Black, who stars alongside Smith on All The Queen’s Men, has long dreamed of being a father. “My biological father was very absent in my life. So personally, it’s something that I’ve always looked forward to. It’s something that I’ve always dreamed of, how I was going to connect with my kid, or foster their dreams, so I’m elated,” he shares.

Looking ahead, the couple hopes to have two to three children. 

“We never had the ‘Do you want kids?’ conversation. She knew family was important to me, but we never formally discussed it. But with a strong relationship, growth happens, allowing us to progress to the next step,” Black says.