Model Olivia Culpo Shares Health Scare During First Trimester of Pregnancy

The 32-year-old Culpo is ‘on bed rest,’ expecting her first child with husband, NFL star Christian McCaffrey.

Olivia Culpo attends the 2024 Fox Upfront at The Ritz-Carlton Nomad in New York City on May 13, 2024. Roy Rochlin/Getty Images

Actress and model Olivia Culpo has shared an update on her pregnancy just over a week after she and her husband, San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey, announced they are expecting their first child.

“This is a little time capsule piece because it’s Dec. 12, and I’m 9 weeks pregnant,” Culpo, 32, said in a video posted to TikTok on March 18.

“I have been on bed rest for—this is week two. And before that, I had pneumonia so then I was sick also for two weeks. All in all, I’ve been truly on bed rest for, like, four weeks,” the model said.

“Towards the end of the two weeks of being really sick. I got a subchorionic hematoma, which is basically a blood clot in my uterus, and I was bleeding everywhere. So at this point, I was so exhausted, like, two weeks of just not being able to move.”

According to the Cleveland Clinic, a subchorionic hematoma occurs when a collection of blood forms under the chorion membrane, the outer tissue layer of the baby’s amniotic sac that connects to the uterine wall. Vaginal bleeding is one of the most common signs of the condition, which typically resolves on its own without causing any serious complications to the pregnancy.

Culpo went to the doctor to make sure her baby was okay. “It was really exciting to see that there was still a heartbeat,” she said.

Doctors instructed Culpo to stay in bed and prescribed her progesterone suppositories. The medication supports a mother’s body during pregnancy by increasing levels of the hormone progesterone, promoting a healthy uterine lining, according to the clinic.

“This helps keep the environment best for the baby; it calms down the uterine wall and allows the placenta to attach,” Culpo explained, noting that, despite the complications, she’s grateful her pregnancy is going well so far.

“Anybody out there with a subchorionic hematoma, or SCH as they call it, I hope that this video will help you if you experience a lot of intense bleeding in your first trimester—it’s not always the worst case that you’re thinking,” she said.

“Go to the doctor and ask them about the progesterone suppositories. I really do believe that’s the only reason why I’m still carrying this baby. I just hope that this can help anybody else going through this, anybody feeling alone.”

Culpo has previously been open about her battle with endometriosis, a chronic disease that causes tissue to develop outside the uterus, per the World Health Organization. Symptoms include severe pelvic pain, heavy bleeding during periods, bloating, nausea, fatigue, and infertility.

“I was around 15 years old when the symptoms started, and they became much more intense in my early 20s,” she told NIH MedlinePlus Magazine in 2023. “The most persistent and obvious symptom was horrible low back pain, but I also had bloating, nausea, and rectal bleeding.”

After being diagnosed with the disease at the age of 27, Culpo underwent a laparoscopy to remove lesions in the abdomen or pelvis.

“I’m so much better since my surgery,” she told the publication. “Once that pain went away, my entire world opened up. I felt like I got my life back ... I’m not pain-free, but I can do anything I want now.”

And Baby Makes Three

Culpo rose to fame in 2012 after being crowned Miss Universe.

She went on to pursue modeling and acting, appearing alongside Cameron Diaz, Leslie Mann, and Kate Upton in the 2014 romance comedy “The Other Woman.” Other acting credits include “I Feel Pretty” (2018), “Reprisal” (2018), “The Swing of Things” (2020), and “Clawfoot” (2023).

Culpo married McCaffrey, 28, on June 29, 2024. The wedding ceremony was held at Ocean House, a luxury seaside resort in Rhode Island, where the bride grew up.

Reflecting on her big day during a July 2024 interview with Vogue, Culpo said she made it a point during her wedding planning process “to keep gratitude at the forefront.”

“I tried to remind myself that this could very well be one of the last times Christian and I have every single one of our loved ones in one place,” she said.

Christian McCaffrey and Olivia Culpo attend the 2022 Vanity Fair Oscar Party hosted by Radhika Jones at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills, Calif., on March 27, 2022. Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

On March 10, Culpo revealed that she and her husband were expecting their first child. “Next chapter, motherhood,” she wrote on Instagram.

The actress’s baby announcement was met with an outpouring of congratulatory messages from her fans and followers.

“This is such good news. You guys will be amazing parents. God bless,” wrote political commentator Candace Owens. “So so happy for you both.”

“I am so happy for y’all!” said model Sarah Rose Summers. “Transitioning to this chapter is going to be seamless.”

“You’re going to be an amazing mama,” singer and actress Jessie James Decker wrote. “Soooo happy!”