Adut Akech’s journey to motherhood began with an unexpected omen. One night, she dreamt vividly that her sister was pregnant. The dream was so real that it startled her awake, prompting her to call her sister in the dead of night to verify its truth. Her sister, groggy and bemused, assured her that she was definitely not expecting. Little did Akech know, this was the first sign of many that her own life was about to change profoundly.
The following day, Akech experienced an unusual craving for oranges. She found herself peeling and eating them incessantly, even carrying bags of orange slices in her purse. The day after, she was struck by an exhaustion deeper than anything she had ever felt before. Despite her typically hectic schedule—attending the Valentino show in Paris, posing for numerous photo shoots, and flying back to Adelaide, Australia—this fatigue was different.
The realization hit her in the most mundane of moments. “I was picking up my car from the service center—with my bag of oranges!—and while driving back home, I started feeling like I was going to throw up,” she recalls. It dawned on Akech that she might need to take a pregnancy test. She took five, and all confirmed what she suspected: she was undeniably pregnant.
At 24, Akech is three years younger than the average first-time mother in the U.S. “I always said I wanted to be a young mom because I love the idea of growing up with your kids,” she says, reflecting on her own close relationship with her mother, who had Akech at 20. “The age difference plays a huge role in how close we are,” she adds. Akech, who adores children, dreams of having at least four, ideally five, and wouldn’t mind six if some end up being twins.
As she embarks on her first pregnancy, Akech is filled with excitement and anticipation. “I’m good. I’m excited. I can’t wait. I’m like—can they just come already? I’m kind of over it and I’m just halfway,” she admits. Despite the joy, she describes pregnancy as a “beautiful feeling, but a mental and physical rollercoaster. Nothing really ever prepares you for it.”
Akech humorously recounts the unexpected challenges, like pregnancy-specific weight gain. “Why does it feel like there’s a brick sitting on the top of my vagina? I’m so sorry for my language,” she says, laughing. The combination of exhaustion and insomnia, along with bizarre eating patterns, also caught her off guard. Some days she has no appetite, while on others, she craves everything. “I’ll force my mom to cook three traditional dishes and on top of that I’m having KFC,” she laughs.
The pregnancy journey has made Akech reflect deeply on her upbringing. Born in South Sudan, she and her mother fled the country due to civil war, living in a Kenyan refugee camp for eight years. Akech wants her child to have the same values her difficult road gave her. “When you don’t come from much, you don’t really value the material stuff,” she says. “I could have easily gotten carried away with the life that I now live. But I think I’ve always just in the back of my head: Remember where you came from,” she reflects. “If I can take care of my family and take care of myself, that’s it, I’m happy.”
Teaching her kids what’s truly valuable is paramount to Akech. “I just want to teach my kids what’s valuable. And what’s not,” she emphasizes. Her children will also learn the value of hard work. Despite her success, she intends for her kids to work for their first car, just as she did.
That night, Akech is hosting a gender reveal party with her family and partner Samuel Elkhier, along with a few close friends. Excited to find out the baby’s gender, she’s also thrilled to dress up again after months of living in sweatpants. “I lived in the same three pairs of sweatpants. One was Alo. One was Lululemon. The other one might’ve been Victoria’s Secret,” she jokes.
With about 10 weeks of pregnancy left, Akech is amazed by her journey and how much further she still has to go. “I’m just waddling around like, ‘What the fuck is this? What is this?’” she says, mimicking her exaggerated movements for comedic effect. Yet, she speaks with determination and pride. “Women…we’re built different, honestly,” she concludes. “I don’t think men could ever.”
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