NBC News correspondent Emilie Ikeda is expecting her first child, and she managed to keep the happy news secret from her TODAY colleagues until revealing it during a live broadcast.
Ikeda, 32, announced her pregnancy during the 3rd Hour of TODAY on Monday, August 31, 2026. Instead of making a traditional announcement, the correspondent worked the reveal into a conversation about her weekend, catching Craig Melvin and Dylan Dreyer completely off guard.
The moment quickly turned into a celebration in the studio as Ikeda confirmed that she and her husband, Pat, are preparing to welcome their first baby in January 2027.
Surprise Reveal
Ikeda was filling in during the third hour of TODAY when the hosts began discussing what they had done over the weekend.
When it was her turn, Ikeda suggested that pictures would be the best way to explain hers.
The photographs provided the surprise. Viewers and her colleagues saw images of Ikeda and her husband holding ultrasound pictures, immediately revealing that the couple had a baby on the way.
Melvin reacted with obvious surprise as he realized what Ikeda was announcing.
Ikeda then confirmed that the reactions were genuine. She had deliberately kept the pregnancy news from her colleagues before sharing it with them and viewers at the same time.
Five Months Along
Ikeda revealed that she was approximately five months pregnant when she made the announcement.
That puts the NBC correspondent in her second trimester, a stage she described far more positively than the opening months of her pregnancy.
Ikeda said she had dealt with considerable nausea during her first trimester and described that period as extremely difficult. Things have improved during her second trimester, when she has also started experiencing one of the pregnancy milestones she had been waiting for: feeling her baby move.
Those kicks can apparently arrive at unexpected moments, including while she is concentrating on scripts and work.
For Ikeda, they have become a small reminder that her baby is with her even in the middle of a busy working day.
Baby Due in January
Ikeda and her husband are expecting their first child in January 2027.
The pregnancy represents a major new chapter for the couple, who have generally kept much of their personal life outside the daily spotlight surrounding Ikeda’s television career.
Despite sharing the pregnancy publicly, they are preserving one major surprise for the delivery room.
No Gender Reveal
Ikeda and Pat have decided not to find out their baby’s sex before the birth.
Rather than organizing a gender reveal or learning the answer privately from their doctors, the couple wants to discover it when their child arrives.
Ikeda acknowledged on TODAY that some might consider the decision unusual given how easy it is for expecting parents to learn the information during pregnancy.
For the couple, however, waiting makes the birth even more exciting.
Ikeda described it as the ultimate surprise.
Dylan Missed the Clue
Although Dylan Dreyer did not know about the pregnancy, Ikeda joked that she had actually been leaving clues.
One of the biggest involved Dreyer’s parenting podcast.
Ikeda pointed out that she had become a particularly dedicated listener to Dreyer’s Parent Chat. Dreyer admitted she had wondered why her colleague had suddenly become so interested in conversations centered on parenting.
The reason now makes considerably more sense.
What initially seemed like support for a colleague’s podcast was also useful listening for an expectant first-time mother preparing for an entirely new stage of life.
Craig’s Dad Joke
The announcement also produced an almost immediate dad joke.
With Al Roker absent from the broadcast, Melvin stepped in with a pun inspired by Ikeda’s surname, joking that the correspondent was preparing to have an “I-kiddo.”
It was a lighthearted addition to a reveal that had already transformed an ordinary morning television conversation into a personal celebration.
The surprise was followed by congratulations and hugs from her colleagues.
Who Is Emilie Ikeda?
Ikeda is an NBC News correspondent who regularly reports across the network’s news platforms and appears on TODAY.
Before joining NBC News, she worked at Fox News and developed experience covering major national stories from around the United States.
Her assignments at NBC have ranged across breaking news and major national events, giving viewers a familiar face during significant stories.
Her role also regularly takes her outside the studio, making her pregnancy journey somewhat different from that of a television personality whose work is primarily based behind a desk.
Now, viewers will also see Ikeda preparing for motherhood while continuing her broadcasting career.
First Trimester Struggles
The cheerful television announcement came after a challenging beginning to Ikeda’s pregnancy.
She disclosed that nausea made her first trimester particularly unpleasant. By the time she announced the pregnancy publicly, however, she had entered a stage where she was feeling better.
She also spoke enthusiastically about feeling her baby kick.
That physical connection appears to have become one of her favorite parts of the experience so far. Even when she is busy, distracted or working through a script, feeling movement provides an unexpected reminder of the major change happening in her life.
First Baby Together
The child will be the first for Ikeda and her husband, Pat.
Although her work frequently puts Ikeda in front of a national television audience, the couple has not turned every part of the pregnancy into a public event.
Their choice to wait until birth to learn the baby’s sex is consistent with that approach, allowing them to keep one of the pregnancy’s biggest details private even after announcing that they are expecting.
For viewers who saw the live reveal, the announcement also offered an unusually spontaneous television moment.
Melvin and Dreyer weren’t simply acting surprised for the audience. Ikeda made clear that her colleagues were finding out alongside everyone watching at home.
What’s Next?
With Ikeda five months into her pregnancy at the time of the August 31 announcement, attention now turns toward the baby’s expected arrival in January 2027.
There is still one question that will remain unanswered until then: whether Ikeda and her husband are welcoming a boy or a girl.
For now, the NBC News correspondent is enjoying her second trimester, feeling her baby’s kicks and preparing to become a mother for the first time.
The unexpected TODAY reveal gave viewers a memorable way to learn the news while capturing the genuine reactions of Ikeda’s colleagues.
After months of keeping her pregnancy relatively quiet, Emilie Ikeda officially has some major news of her own to report — her family is growing.
