carolinemanzo.comThe Real Housewives of New Jersey family continues to expand.
Shortly after welcoming Jacqueline Laurita's daughter Ashlee Holmes' baby into the world, we learn that the new mom's cousin Lauren Manzo is pregnant! Caroline Manzo's daughter and hubby Vito Scalia are expecting their first child together.
"Vito and I are so happy to announce that we are expecting our first child, due early 2017," Lauren tells E! News in an exclusive statement. "Everyone is overjoyed for the future addition to the Scalia-Manzo family. It's amazing that we get to share our journey this season on Manzo'd With Children with everyone who has followed us throughout our relationship."
The Manzo family matriarch took to Instagram Thursday to share a baby bump photo of her girl, with the caption, "My beautiful little girl is going to be a mommy. Congratulations @laurenmanzo & @vitoscalia3 we are over the moon with happiness for you both!"
"We are so excited to be expecting our first child, due in early 2017. What a crazy year it has been for us. Life is full of wonderful surprises!," the couple said in a joint statement to People, who first reported the story. "We had been trying to get pregnant for a while, and as soon as we stopped placing so much pressure on ourselves, it actually happened."
Lauren hinted at possible fertility struggles in the trailer for the new season of the family's spinoff show Manzo'd With Children. "I get nervous that we haven't gotten pregnant yet," she tells Vito.
Rumors that Manzo got pregnant back in April began to surface, but her brother Chris didn't know of any bun in the oven at the time. I know Lauren is superstitious. So if there is something, if there was any kind of news, it hasn't been broken to me yet," Chris told The Daily Dish.
"That's usually the next step after marriage, but there hasn't been anything that they're at least telling me. I know that my sister is extremely superstitious, so if there's any kind of superstition of when you can tell someone or anything like that, maybe it's in that phase right now," he added. "I know that as long as I've been alive Lauren's wanted to be a young mother. So, that's in the back of everyone's mind as well."
Aw, well now she gets her wish! Congratulations to Lauren and Vito!
Manzo'd With Children airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on Bravo.
(E! and Bravo are both members of the NBCUniversal family.)