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We told you back in July that actress Tika Sumpter surprised a lot of people when she stepped out for an AKA induction ceremony. And no, it wasn’t because she was becoming an honorary AKA, but rather, because she was very pregnant. She revealed the next month that she is indeed expecting her first child, and early next month, she is scheduled to give birth. The question some had was why she waited so long to say anything (“some” being people who don’t understand how the whole privacy thing works…), so she decided to be open about her hesitancy in an interview with Fit Pregnancy and Baby.

“She’s my first child, and I wanted to experience every moment of this pregnancy for myself and enjoy it without everybody else being in it with me,” Sumpter stated, before sharing that she didn’t want to deal with a long line of questions from the public. The “public” even included some of her friends.

“I didn’t want to hear, ‘Who’s the dad? Are you with the dad?'” the 36-year-old actress explained, as the Internet has already started claiming it’s her Haves and Have Nots co-star Nick James. “Social media can be harsh, and I’m a mama bear, protective of my family. So that’s why I waited to tell people, including some friends.”

Sumpter said that she found out she was pregnant around Valentine’s Day. After having a crazy craving for some McDonald’s during a surprise trip to San Diego with her beau, she caught the itis when she finished her meal and was out cold.

“Afterward, I immediately fell asleep,” the actress recounted. “When I woke up, my boyfriend was like, ‘Ha-ha! Are you pregnant?’ I said, ‘Maybe. Go get a test!’ He brought back a generic-brand test, and right away it said positive. I could not comprehend it. So I said, ‘Go get a name-brand test!’ He did, and that one said yes too.”

Sumpter still has the stick, which she had to show to her mother who didn’t believe the news initially.

“One of the first questions my mother asked when she found out I was pregnant was, ‘Are you going to get married?’ I’d love to, but maybe in a year or so. I’ve been with my boyfriend for more than a year and a half.”

Sumpter continued: “Our relationship is not dependent on a ring. I love him to death, and he loves me to death, and that’s all that matters to me.”

But she admitted that the opinion of her boss, Tyler Perry, also mattered to her, as she was scared to tell him she was expecting at one point.

“It’s hard to be pregnant, because you get scared about your job. I even felt worried about telling my agent and manager. Then when I was five months, Tyler Perry texted me, ‘Are you pregnant?’ Inside, I was thinking, ‘Oh, my god, how did he know?’ I wrote back, ‘What are you talking about? You’re crazy!’ But when I saw him that afternoon, I told him. He just said, ‘I knew it! Tika, this is going to be the best time of your life.’ I feel lucky that he’s been so supportive.”

Check out Sumpter’s full interview over at Fit Pregnancy and Baby, including how she’s handling cravings, rejecting guilt, being open to a natural birth, and how she dealt with a fibroid growing during her pregnancy.

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