Jessica Batten of 'Love Is Blind' Season 1 welcomes 1st child
Jessica Batten and her husband, Benjamin McGrath, welcomed their first child as a couple.
Batten gave birth to baby Dax on June 9. The couple shared the news in a joint post on Instagram June 17, just over a week after he was born.
In the caption, they shared their baby's name and birthday, accompanied by a carousel of adorable photos of the newborn to document their first week as a family.
Among the photos of baby Dax were snaps of his older siblings holding him. Though Dax is the couple's first child together, McGrath has two children from a previous relationship: daughter Poppy and son Ethan.
The comment section was full of celebratory messages from family, friends and fans, as well as her fellow "Love Is Blind" alums.
“Yayyyyy he’s here!!!!” Giannina Milady Gibelli, who also appeared on the first season of the Netflix reality series, commented on the post.
Lauren Chamblin, another Season One alum, wrote, “Ahhh welcome to the world, Dax!! He is gorgeous & so are you!!!!! Congratulations!”
“He’s so perfect! Love seeing you as a mommy!” Season One's Kelly Chase wrote in the comments. “Love you so much Jess! Congrats to you and Ben! can’t wait to meet Dax soon!”
Batten announced on Instagram in January that she and McGrath were expecting their first child together after just over three months of marriage.
Batten and McGrath began their romance during the COVID-19 pandemic on the heels of her relationship with Mark Cuevas from “Love Is Blind.” Cuevas has since gotten married and welcomed two children with his wife, Aubrey.
Batten told the wedding publication Brides in September 2022 that her relationship with McGrath started on Instagram. He reached out to her with a direct message, which was followed by a night out in Venice and a 15 mile bike ride the next day.
The couple went Instagram official in July 2020 before they got engaged in September 2021. The couple wed the following year at a courthouse with two other couples as their guests, followed by an intimate reception in Santa Barbara.
After getting engaged to McGrath, Batten opened up to People about how she had been “learning to be a parent” to Poppy and Ethan.
“I didn’t know this would be in my future, but I couldn’t imagine my life without them," she told the outlet. "They’re so super special to me.”
At the time, she described learning to be a parent as requiring “a lot of sacrifice” but ultimately, “so rewarding."
“After being by myself for so long, or just me and (my dog) Payton, now having them, it’s just a whole different perspective," she said.
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
