In an exclusive with the Herald, Kaylee Bell has announced she is pregnant with her first child. Photo / Azrie Azizi
Kaylee Bell never thought she would get the chance to add ‘mother’ to her long list of accomplishments.
It wasn’t because she didn’t want to, nor that her career wouldn’t accommodate it, but rather she thought it was something that might not be medically possible.
The country music star is private about her personal life, but as she approaches her mid-30s, she’s chosen to open up about one of her most unexpected chapters yet, her journey to becoming a mum.
It’s a journey that once felt so out of reach, that when it finally happened, it took some months to come to terms with.
“The very first feeling was complete shock,” Bell exclusively tells the Herald.
“I’d kind of just got to a point where I’d ruled out that part of my life and so it’s been quite overwhelming.”
Despite being an energetic presence on stage, the Waimate-born star has had many health struggles behind the scenes.
When she was just 16, Bell was hospitalised after her appendix burst, resulting in a life-threatening infection, peritonitis and a gruelling surgery.
“That time in hospital as a 16-year-old was quite life-changing,” she says, recalling the moment she went into surgery, terrified, with severe stomach pain.
The teen came out of the surgery with a diagnosis of peritonitis - a life-threatening infection and inflammation of the peritoneum.
“The surgery was quite complex. I was left with a massive scar and spent a month in hospital recovering,” she explains. “When I woke from surgery I had no idea what had happened but I remember feeling lucky to be alive and it really shifted my mental state around the way I wanted to live my life.”
Unfortunately, for Bell, her health struggles didn’t end there; she also suffers from chronic fatigue and, for the past 15-years, has been trying to receive an official diagnosis for endometriosis, a condition that is estimated to affect one in 10 women in New Zealand, or 120,000 women every year.
Because it’s so hard to diagnose, the inflammatory disease - occurring in the lining of the uterus - is often called an “invisible illness” .
According to Endometriosis NZ, it currently takes about 8 years to diagnose the disease and the only way to receive a diagnosis is by undergoing invasive laparoscopic surgery, through a long referral process from gynaecologists.
Misdiagnosis can be common.
Because of this, Bell says she found herself battling with the health system for the better part of two decades to get answers about her reproductive health and receiving information that left her questioning if it was even possible to fall pregnant at all.
It was a contributing factor to why she believed motherhood was out of the question for her: “I think a lot of females [with endometriosis] get told that,” she shares.
“There’s a lot of, just a massive lacking in our woman’s health I think. There’s just so much lacking there in support and answers.”
And Bell admits “it’s been a very emotional journey”, recalling finding out in June she and longtime partner Nick Campbell, of Midnight Youth, were going to be parents - especially as this was all happening while her career was reaching impressive new heights.
Since last speaking to the Herald in March, Bell embarked on a debut headline tour around Australia, released a new single, Cowboy Up, signed with C3 Management after 14-years as an independent artist and is currently opening for Kane Brown on his Australasian tour.
And while adding motherhood to the mix might sound daunting, Bell reckons she’s up for the challenge.
“Women, we can do everything we want to do, and that might mean that we need help and extra support, but you know, I think I’ll be a better mother by being able to continue with my career, as well as hopefully being a good mum to my bubba.”
“My biggest thing is I’ve never shied away from challenges. So, I just really want to prove that you can do both. And I think it’s something that we don’t get to see very often, unfortunately,” she says, admitting she believes there is “still a little bit of a stigma” around working mothers in music.
And the ARIA winner’s baby has already had a taste of what their life will be like on the road having already attended global music festivals, Bonnaroo, and Lollapalooza, touring Australia, and now touring with Brown.
But as Bell enters her third trimester, she has had to adapt slightly to the challenges of pregnancy.
“The fitness thing’s been the biggest thing,” she chuckles. “Definitely finding it harder to breathe and get through a full-hour show.”
But Bell’s trying to use it to her advantage.
“Once I have this baby in February, I’ll be back in [to work] after about seven weeks for Homegrown and then CMC Rock, so I’m very much taking responsibility now to make sure I keep fit for the postpartum side as well,” she grins.
And 2025 is shaping up to be a big year with a “massive headline tour” yet to be announced for New Zealand and Australia, a new album, and a return to her part-time home in Nashville in July.
The musician admits some people have called her plans “ambitious,” but most are more than supportive as they know her drive and truthfully, she says, “there was no other way”.
“There are stigmas that I would love to see change, and if I can do anything to help change them, I will be trying to. Just because we’re having a baby, it’s like, yes, things will be tough; I’m a realist.
“I know it’s going to be really hard, but I think the hard stuff is always worth it, and the joy is that I get to have a family and have a career at the end of the day. So if I can show someone else that that’s possible, then I think that’s really encouraging.”
True to her signature style when it comes to all things personal, Bell will be keeping her new family out of the spotlight as much as she can, but she says fans can expect a vulnerable piece of this story to make it onto her next album.
“I’ve written one [song] so far which will go on the record, which was like about the moment of finding out and just how everything can change so quickly,” she says, explaining that she went through a “real mental shift” and a lot of emotions upon finding out she would become a mum, but now feels “really positive” and grateful for her new journey.
And for others who might be on a similar journey, Bell hopes that her story might bring them some hope too.
“Anything can happen,” she says.
“Don’t give up, because this was not on the cards, yet I just think it’s going to be probably one of the most exciting chapters of my life.”
OPINION: There's enough for old-school and new-school fans alike.