John Legend reveals wife Chrissy Teigen's 'life was in danger' before late-term abortion with son Jack

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: John Legend recently shared profound insights into the traumatic experience he and his wife Chrissy Teigen endured during her high-risk pregnancy with their son Jack in 2020, as per PEOPLE.

In an emotional conversation on Shannon Sharpe's 'Club Shay Shay' podcast, Legend, 45, disclosed that Teigen’s life was at serious risk when she experienced life-threatening complications, leading to a necessary abortion.

Reflecting on the personal tragedy and current abortion laws, Legend voiced concerns over government intervention in deeply personal healthcare decisions.

John Legend reveals Chrissy Teigen's necessary abortion due to life-threatening complications

“My wife, she was well past 15 weeks when she had to have an abortion,” Legend explained during the interview with Sharpe on October 23.

The couple’s son, Jack, was lost at 20 weeks of pregnancy due to a severe condition known as partial placenta abruption.

This rare but dangerous complication occurs when the placenta separates prematurely from the uterine wall, which, according to the Cleveland Clinic, can endanger the lives of both mother and fetus.

Legend recounted how the complications began to take a serious toll on Teigen. “She was miscarrying and bleeding out, and all these things were happening,” he recalled.

The situation was dire, as Sharpe emphasized when he asked, “Her life was in danger?” Legend confirmed with a somber nod, saying, “Her life was in danger.”

In the wake of their devastating loss, Legend and Teigen made the painful choice to undergo an abortion to protect Teigen’s life. The decision, though heartbreaking, was necessary to prevent her from succumbing to the complications caused by the abruption.

Teigen herself shared the anguish of the experience on social media at the time, writing, “We are shocked and in the kind of deep pain you only hear about, the kind of pain we’ve never felt before. We were never able to stop the bleeding and give our baby the fluids he needed, despite bags and bags of blood transfusions. It just wasn’t enough.”

John Legend goes off on government’s interference in matters of reproductive healthcare

This tragic loss of Jack and the circumstances surrounding it have left an indelible mark on the couple, who, after enduring fertility struggles, never anticipated the devastating turn their journey would take.

Teigen expressed her profound grief and gratitude for her family on Instagram, saying, “Jack worked so hard to be a part of our little family, and he will be, forever.”

For Legend, the heartache of their personal experience is compounded by his frustration with restrictive abortion laws in the United States.

These policies, he argues, could put countless lives at risk by forcing individuals in life-threatening situations to seek approval from governing bodies instead of following the medical guidance of their healthcare providers.

In states such as Texas and Georgia, where abortion access has been severely restricted following the 2022 Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade, Legend sees an intrusion into what should be a private, medically guided decision.

“For the government to say, ‘Oh, we need to evaluate this to make sure you’re sufficiently dying before you can have an abortion,’” he explained, pausing to let the gravity of his words sink in.

“That’s what they’re saying, right? In Texas and in Georgia and in all these states where they have Trump abortion bans,” he continued, clearly frustrated.

As Legend elaborated, the government’s interference in matters of reproductive health care could pose a significant danger, as it may prevent women from receiving timely care in situations that demand immediate intervention.

“They’re saying the government needs to evaluate whether you are sufficiently dying before you can have an abortion — not your doctor, not you and your family, right? The government,” he said.

Legend’s stance is unwavering: he believes that life-saving decisions should be left to the woman, her family, and her doctor. “No, stay out of it, right? Let these women — let them and their families and their doctors — make these decisions. We don’t need the government to be involved in it,” he argued.

“Women don’t need the government telling them what to do with their bodies.”