Melissa Carter, morning host on B98.5, is having a baby via a surrogate.
She announced the good news this morning over the airwaves and got teary eyed. She and her partner Katie Jo had been together for eight years and had been trying to have a child for six years though in vitro fertilization. ((Katie Jo is a pseudonym for her partner, who has chosen to stay anonymous for now though Carter said that could change down the road.)
Neither are pregnant. They have a surrogate in the Pacific Northwest who had embryos from both women inserted into her uterus and one of them took. The unnamed woman is now 16 weeks pregnant and the fetus is healthy.
Carter was a co-host on the popular Bert Show on Q100 from 2001 until 2011 and joined B98.5 last year.
In an interview on Monday after her show, she said she felt the need to make the announcement because she had been talking about it for so many years, going back to the Bert Show.
"I felt listeners would want to know," she said. "I have been in morning radio for 20 years. I pretty much grew up on the radio. I got sick on the radio. I had my [kidney] transplant. I feel like listeners are part of my life. It's not just a job. It would have felt like a disservice if I didn't talk about it."
She said her emotions veer from excitement and happiness to fear of the unknown. "There are times it feels like a dream," Carter said. "It still doesn't feel quite real. It feels like a great idea!"
Carter said she knows friends who have gone through IVF but not through a surrogate.
She herself, as a lesbian, never thought seriously about being a mom until she met Katie Jo, who was much more keen on motherhood than Carter. "Katie is the reason I'm going to have a family," she said.
Carter thinks it's a shame fertility treatments are not covered by insurance and can cost tens of thousands of dollars that many couples can't afford.
She said they are also considering adoption down the road to give their child a sibling.
"There aren't words to describe how happy I am for those two beautiful women," Jeff Dauler, a former co-host of hers still on the Bert Show, texted me. "That child has no idea how lucky he or she is, having the opportunity to learn how to navigate life from two strong, smart, passionate, successful humans. If Melissa can avoid making the kid into a sci-fi nerd, it's go ta shot at being the greatest human being on earth!"
Jenn Hobby, another former Bert Show host who is now a mid-day host on Kicks 101.5 and a new mom herself, said "it's been quite a journey... and they are just getting started! They will be amazing parents and I've already got dibs on throwing a baby shower this summer!"
B98.5 is part of Cox Media Group, which also includes the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
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