The pregnancy trope has been a staple in the sitcom world. We’ve seen characters reveal an unexpected pregnancy, a beloved TV couple finally gets a positive pregnancy test, and more. But what about when the real world collides with the fictional? We’ve seen a lot of our favorite actors play pregnant in shows, with it purely being fictional, but what about when they’re pregnant in real life, too? While many write it into the show, or have the character leave for a few episodes, some try to work around it (and it can lead to hilarious results)!
Have you ever noticed that some female characters often carry a large bag or a prop that covers the lower half of their body? Chances are, they were hiding a pregnancy. We saw it with How I Met Your Mother, Friends, and even The Cosby Show. While some try to be sneaky about it, some just break the fourth wall in a LOL way (Yes, we’re talking about that one bit in The Nanny)!
However, the writers can also get, erm, a little too creative with how they cover an in-real-life pregnancy. And you’ll see what we mean.
Below, see which shows tried to hide one of the cast members’ pregnancies.
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Chyler Leigh in ‘Grey’s Anatomy’
Image Credit: ©ABC/Courtesy Everett Collection Grey’s Anatomy star Chyler Leigh was pregnant during Season 7, and no, they didn’t write it into her character’s story. Instead, they did the usual of making her wardrobe bigger, so she’d wear baggy coats and scrubs. However, they added a strange storyling to explain the weight gain: making her a stress eater.
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Alyson Hannigan & Cobie Smulders in ‘How I Met Your Mother’
Image Credit: ©CBS/Courtesy Everett Collection Fun fact: both Alyson Hannigan and Cobie Smulders had to hide their pregnancies on How I Met Your Mother, and around the same time, too! They utilized large purses, salad bowls, and even flowy tops to hide their bumps. However, they got rather creative on the 14th episode with Hannigan. Specifically for the episode The Possimpible, Hannigan’s character, Lily, participates in a competitive speed-eating event in two different scenes, and in each scene, she has a belly (which, in the story, is supposed to be a result of all the hot dogs she ate).
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Julie Bowen in ‘Modern Family’
Image Credit: ©ABC/Courtesy Everett Collection If you look closely at Julie Bowen’s character in Modern Family back in the pilot episode, you’ll see they did everything they could to hide her pregnancy. She was around eight-and-a-half months pregnant at the time so they utilized large clothing, as well as strategically placing objects cereal boxes and laundry baskets in front of her.
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Jennie Garth in ‘What I Like About You’
Image Credit: ©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection In the first season, Jennie Garth’s character in What I Like About You was almost exclusively shot from the waist-up, or she was sitting down. Pretty straightforward!
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Zooey Deschanel in ‘New Girl’
Image Credit: ©20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection So, they worked to hide Zooey Deschanel’s pregnancy on the show New Girl by having her character work on Jury Duty in season five.
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Helen Baxendale in ‘Friends’
Image Credit: ©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection While we all know that they wrote Lisa Kudrow’s pregnancy into the show, Friends, in Season 4 and Season 5, she wasn’t the only one who was pregnant. Helen Baxendale, who played Ross’ ex-wife Emily, was actually supposed to be on the show much longer than the 14 episodes she was already on. She was pregnant at the beginning of Season 5, which they covered by only filming her from the waist up and having her in a baggy sweater or under blankets while on the phone with Ross. They ended up writing her off the show after it was hard to hide her pregnancy.
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Amy Poehler in ‘Parks and Recreation’
Image Credit: ©NBC/Courtesy Everett Collection As you can see, they got creative with what they put in front of Amy Poehler’s baby bump in season 3 of Parks and Recreation!
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Jane Leeves in ‘Frasier’
Image Credit: ©NBC/Courtesy Everett Collection Chances are, you either know about this or you’re finding out about it now, but back in season 8 of Frasier, they wrote Jane Leeves’ first pregnancy into the show, but with a different storyline. Instead, they wrote that she gained a massive amount of weight due to stress eating, and they made a lot of jokes about it in the show. It was arguably one of the most controversial moments in the show, so when her second pregnancy came around, they wrote that she was pregnant on the show too.
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January Jones in ‘Mad Men’
Image Credit: ©AMC/courtesy Everett Collection And in Mad Men, they basically did the same thing with January Jones’ character. When Jones was pregnant in real life on Season 5, they decided to make it a storyline by using a fat suit, prosthetic makeup, and more to show her unhappiness in her marriage.
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Keri Russell in ‘The Americans’
Image Credit: ©FX Networks/Courtesy Everett Collection Hiding Keri Russell’s pregnancy in The Americans was pretty straightforward: big coats, putting props in front of her belly….and CGI?! Yup, they’re getting more sophisticated with it.
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Julia Louis-Dreyfus in ‘Seinfeld’
Image Credit: ©Castle Rock Entertainment/Courtesy Everett Collection Fun fact: Julia Louis-Dreyfus was pregnant twice on the show, Seinfeld, and that’s when they brought out the layered clothes and bulky props!
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Heather Locklear in ‘Melrose Place’
Image Credit: ©NBC/Courtesy Everett Collection Okay, so in the sixth season, Heather Locklear’s character in Melrose Place wasn’t pregnant, but she was. So they did the usual, but also hired body doubles.
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Melissa Fumero in ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’
Image Credit: ©20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection Melissa Fumero’s real-life pregnancy was mostly hidden with props like gift baskets and desks. However, they did add her pregnancy into a storyline, having her character go undercover in a women’s prison, pretending to be a pregnant inmate.
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Marcia Cross in ‘Desperate Housewives’
Image Credit: ©ABC/Courtesy Everett Collection Fun fact: Marcia Cross was pregnant with twins in Season 3 of Desperate Housewives, so they got creative with having the usual props, camera angles, and even having actors sit or stand in front of her.
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Lauren Lane in ‘The Nanny’
Image Credit: ©CBS/Courtesy Everett Collection Lauren Lane’s pregnancy in season 5 of The Nanny was the standard hiding procedures, but in Season 5, Episode 7, “Mommy and Mai,” they incorporated an inside joke about hiding pregnancies from other shows. Lane’s character talks about how obviocus and clumsy it all is, all the while holding things in front of her stomach like a large plant and a cardboard sign that reads “Baby.”
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Phylicia Rashad in ‘The Cosby Show’
Image Credit: Courtesy Everett Collection Phylicia Rashad was pregnant in real life during season 3 of The Cosby Show, and while they did the usual of using people and props to hide her stomach, the giant teddy bear scene will forever remain iconic.
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