“I had a very conservative, religious upbringing in central California where it was not at all uncommon for the people I knew to get married and have children at age 19 or 20,” the Bachelor alum, 26, told Latina Parents Magazine for her April/May cover story, published on Tuesday, March 9. “But when I got pregnant at 23, I was living in Los Angeles, where suddenly I was considered young to be having a baby and everyone treated me like I was a teen mom. ‘Irresponsible’ was a comment I got from a lot of people because both my pregnancies were a surprise and Grayston [Leonard] and I were not — and still are not —married.”

The former reality star explained that “parenthood takes many forms,” adding, “There’s really no one way to do it.”

The California native found out in September 2018 that she was expecting her and her boyfriend’s first child after three months of dating. Ruth arrived in February 2019, followed by son Franklin in June 2020.

Prior to her baby boy’s arrival, Martinez reflected via Instagram on how “embarrassed and ashamed” she felt while expecting her eldest.

“Going through such a life-altering shift with someone you barely know is stressful, scary, and often filled with doubt. With this baby, we can give ourselves permission to be joyful,” the former ABC personality captioned a baby bump shot via Instagram in December 2019. “We’re not fearful. We’re delighted. I can see it on Gray’s face when he touches my belly and tell the baby he loves it. Maybe that’s why this pregnancy is already zooming by— time really does fly when you’re having fun.”

The “Chatty Broads” cohost loves “seeing [her] children happy” and has now stopped worrying about being “cool” while raising them.

“When you’re a parent, you’ll go to the ends of the earth to make your kids smile,” Martinez explained to the magazine on Tuesday. “Grayston will gladly sing ‘Let It Go’ from Frozen. I love the song ‘Shiny’ from Moana. I always do a whole performance as a crab and get really into character.”

The Bachelor Nation member tries to “be aware” of the high standards she puts on herself to be the perfect mom. “[I] force myself to confront those expectations,” she said.

This story originally appeared on: US Magazine - Author:Riley Cardoza