Shawn Booth revealed the mother of his first baby is 30-year-old photographer Audrey Joseph — a.k.a. “Dre.”
Dre introduced herself on the Monday, July 24, episode of his “In the Booth With Shawn Booth” podcast, revealing she’s from “a little town outside of Austin, Texas,” but has lived in Nashville for seven years. The twosome met five years ago when he hired her as a photographer to take pictures at his gym.
“I wasn’t perpetually nauseous, which a lot of women are for, you know, that first 12 weeks,” Joseph, who is 19 weeks pregnant, said on the podcast. “But when I would start getting sick, I had a hard time stopping being sick. So it would be a full day of spending a lot of time in the bathroom and having [a] hard time eating and keeping things down. [I] had to go get fluids a couple of times, [and] ended up in the ER a couple times. They couldn’t find a heartbeat, [which was] a whole other big drama. But we’ve made it through.”
The pair noted that they have names picked out for either a boy or a girl — and Joseph clarified Booth’s previous claims about how they were going to “incorporate both” of their last names when their baby is born.
“My name is going to be a version of the middle name of both of them. But it’s not a hyphenated last name. So technically, when they introduce themselves, they’re going to say, ‘Hi, I am blank Booth,’” Joseph said.
The twosome didn’t go into details about the nature of their relationship, with Booth referring to Joseph as his “baby mama” when he ended the podcast.
The season 11 Bachelorette alum surprised his listeners earlier this month when he announced that he is going to be a father.
“December 12, baby Booth on their way. It’s happening. I’m gonna be a father. The mother is somebody who I’ve been close with for years. We’ve had a relationship and we’ve dated. This just isn’t some random girl I met at Honky Tonk Central. This is a big surprise for the both of us,” he shared at the time. “[To be] open and honest, this wasn’t something that was planned. But it will be and is the most beautiful surprise I’ve ever had in my life. And it’s gonna be very special. I can’t wait. I’m ready. I’m 37 years old. I’ve always wanted to be a dad.”
Booth noted that he didn’t plan to discuss the mother of his child until she was ready, adding “I’ve dated since the show. I’ve dated a bunch of people. I’ve had a girlfriend. … I’ve always just kept things very private.”
He continued: “Going through [the] pregnancy, and trying to, like, keep it under wraps is obviously tricky. We didn’t tell really anybody. … She told, like, her close family and friends. I waited, probably, 10 to 12 weeks to tell really anybody.”
The former reality star, who was previously engaged to Kaitlyn Bristowe, gushed over his plans to raise his child with the then-mystery woman.
“She’s going to be such a good mother. And it’s going to be incredible. It’s very overwhelming,” he detailed. “And it’s also tough, too, for the dad because it takes a while to really fully grasp that you’re having a kid — your body’s not changing, you’re not dealing with all the hormones, and you want to, like, as much as you can, help out. But you also can’t really do anything. … So she’s been an absolute champ, a rock star through it all.”
At the time, Booth told his fans that he wasn’t worried about the response to his news, saying, “This is not a traditional route. I’m sure there will be a lot of people [who] have thoughts and opinions and all that. And I think now probably more than ever, I’ve gotten to a point where I’m like, ‘I don’t care what anybody thinks.’ If they’re like,’ you’re not married.’ … It’s like, ‘Listen, that’s not what’s important here.’”
