Isha Sesay is getting candid about her decision to become a single mom at 47.
Appearing on Today Tuesday, the former CNN International anchor updated hosts Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager on her pregnancy journey and how she manifested this moment in her life.
“It’s definitely something that not everybody understands, but that’s the whole thing, it’s your journey. It’s your story, and you know what you need. And I knew that I wanted this child, and I didn’t need anyone else to cosign or understand the path to it,” she shared.
“I was just going to make it happen.”
Kotb asked the journalist if she’s thought about the moment when her little girl is placed in her arms after she’s born, with Sesay admitting she hasn’t allowed herself to think about it yet.
“You know it’s like you want something so badly, you pray for something for such a long time, and now I think I just — I don’t know what I’m going to be feeling other than this overwhelming gratitude,” she shared.
“And it is gratitude tinged with sadness because my mom’s not physically here, but she’s spiritually here,” she noted of her mom, who suffered a catastrophic stroke when Sesay was 40.
Isha Sesay first announced her pregnancy on Today in October, sharing the news alongside an essay about her decision to take control of her life and chase her greatest dream after coming to a crossroads following the end of a relationship.
“Not having a child would be the greatest regret of my life,” she noted in her essay, adding, “with my biological clock ticking down, if I was waiting for the right man to come along before I did it, well, I might just find myself out of time.”
Explaining that she had failed in-vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles before conceiving, Sesay recalled the moment she learned she was pregnant.
“The day before I was scheduled to return to the clinic, I finally caved in and bought a home test because I couldn’t bear a repeat of the hours-long wait before the clinic called with the results,” she shared.
“The next morning I got up long before the sun was up, anxiously headed to my bathroom and opened the box. The minutes ticked by and I cycled through a myriad of emotions. When the word ‘pregnant’ flashed up on the tiny screen, I screamed and fell to my knees before bursting into tears.”
After recently turning 47, the journalist is looking forward to meeting her baby girl in the coming weeks.
“Whenever I say the words, ‘I am pregnant,’ it is with no small measure of amazement,” she noted in her essay. “I am elated, emotional, terrified, but above all thankful.”