When Vanessa Lachey gotpregnant shortly after her 2011 weddingto Nick Lachey, she was filled with self-doubt.
Born in the Philippines, Vanessa moved frequently around the States with her American dad, Vincent Minnillo, who served in the U.S. Air Force, and her Phillippines-born mom, Helen Bondoc, until they separated when she was 3.
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Vanessa and her older brother lived briefly in Turkey with Helen and her new husband, who also served in the military, but they were evacuated back to America for safety when the Gulf War began in 1990.
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Jeff Lipsky/four.eleven.agency
Helen dropped off her children at Vanessa’s father’s L.A. home, telling their stepmom she would be back, Vanessa recalls. Over the next several weeks, Helen visited a handful of times but then disappeared.
“Before we were married, we had very deep conversations about everything in life — about our past, about our present situations, and about our future and what we wanted,” says Vanessa. “It was really important for me to explain to him where I came from.”
Vanessa and Nick Lachey.Jeff Lipsky/four.eleven.agency
“Nine years ago, I was terrified that I would mess her up, so to speak — that I would fall into these patterns subconsciously,” she says. “What I realized nine years later, having a boy and a girl and a boy, is that you don’t have to fall into those patterns. And I didn’t.”
Still, her pregnancy with Camden was an emotional time. While she was thrilled to be growing her own family, Vanessa struggled with “irrational” thoughts, she says.
“Nick and I got married in July 2011 and I got pregnant that December,” she recalls. “I was like, ‘If this is a little girl, and it’s everything he’s ever wanted, what if he loves her more than me?’ "
Giving birth to Camdenfirst “was the blessing that I needed,” she adds. “By the time we got to my daughter, I was ready.”
Today, Vanessa can’t imagine her life without her three children — and she takes pride in the special bond sheshares with Brooklyn.
Vanessa and Nick with Camden, Brooklyn and Phoenix.Jeff Lipsky/four.eleven.agency
“She’s super intuitive,very smart and very sweet. To see my little girl, I couldn’t be more grateful and thankful that I was given her and that I get to be her mommy,” she says of her daughter. “They all have these wonderful personality traits, and I love watching them grow and look up to me.”
As she continues healing from her past, Vanessa says it’s also moved her to see Nick be the “best daddy” to their little girl.
“If I could intertwine my finger with my arm and my eyes and my legs, that’s what they’re like,” she says. “They are thick as thieves, and I couldn’t be more proud. Her relationship with her dad is going to be the relationship that I believe defines her as a woman.”
For more on how Vanessa Lachey found true happiness with Nick and their three kids after a difficult childhood, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday.
source: people.com
