For pregnant Francesca Farago, preparing for the arrival of her and Jesse Sullivan's twins and their dream vows may be too much to handle.
So the TikToker has hit pause on their wedding plans as she and the 34-year-old ready themselves to welcome tiny Peaches and Garfinkle. "I'm just scared to use their name names as of right now," the Too Hot to Handle alum explained in an exclusive interview with E! News. So while she's fairly confident they're going with the monikers they've been bandying about for two years (nope, not Heart or Afternoon), "We're just using silly nicknames for now."
The Vancouver native, 30, is also content to keep using fiancé when it comes to the man she started dating after interviewing him for a 2021 TikTok Pride event.
"When we were starting IVF and the wedding planning and then the home renovation and work and everything, it was too much," she explained of putting a pin in the whole production after shopping for her perfect gowns. "And we really want to enjoy the wedding planning process. So we're going to wait 'til the babies are a little older, like 2, 3 months, and then we're going to dive in."
Were it up to her future husband, she admitted, they'd already have taken the plunge.
"He wants to be legally married before the kids are here," said Francesca. "I just never pictured myself being pregnant getting married. It's just not something I want to do."
So while they do need to get their still-under-construction house ready for the twins' arrival, mostly, she continued, "I want to be so hot at the wedding, like, have my body back and just make sure it's all perfect."
And even without a wedding date set, a girl can still dream.
Her ideal locale is "definitely somewhere in Italy," she described, "like a Tuscan villa with all my family and a vineyard." The other musts, she added, are a role for Jesse's 15-year-old child Arlo, plus, "the most beautiful dress and outfit changes and then two little babies just running down the aisle. And my dog, Romii."
But while she's eager to say yes to some dresses, for now she's scratching that particular itch by dropping new pieces for her Farago the Label swim line.
To celebrate the return of her discontinued lemon print line, she helmed a "really inclusive" photo shoot, she said. "I had one of my friends who has an ostomy and I think it's been great for awareness."
As she edges closer to her third trimester, she's also putting plans in motion for her own maternity line.
"I've been living in the same four outfits," Francesca admitted, "because either my clothes don't fit or it's so uncomfortable."
And though she's thrilled to be done with her "brutal" first trimester, "I think you're already so uncomfortable, just being alive, that you really need your clothes to be comfortable," she explained. "So maybe I'll launch some maternity bodysuits or sweatpants and stuff like that in the future, because I will be having more babies."
And trust that each and every one of Arlo's siblings will have closets simply bursting with adorable options.
"Buying baby clothes is how I wake up in the morning," Francesca shared of her favorite part of baby prep. "Literally, Jesse rolls over, and I have my phone out, and I'm like, 'But look at this teddy bear onesie, look at this little knit jumper.' I am obsessed with baby clothes."
As for her partner of three years, he's obsessed with doting on her.
"He doesn't want me to cook, he doesn't want me to clean, he wants to just love me and support me and make sure I'm comfortable," Francesca shared, noting the benefits of having a baby with a trans man who has experienced childbirth. "I don't think any other male, especially, would ever be able to understand like Jesse does, because he's done it and he's raised a child."
Only 17 when he and his previous partner welcomed Arlo, "I don't think he was thinking about what could go wrong," she shared. "He was just thinking about how he was going to have a baby. But having him has been amazing. Like, 10 out of 10, highly recommend being engaged to a trans man who has given birth."
Because as it turns out, their life together is filled with 10/10 moments.
As the couple prepare to welcome their twins and usher in a new stage as husband and wife, relive every moment of their sweet love story.
June 2021: First Meeting
Though Francesca Farago tried her luck with love on a few reality dating shows, including Too Hot to Handle, she met her perfect match in Jesse Sullivan while hosting an event online.
“TikTok hired me to host an event for Pride Month,” Francesca told Elite Daily in 2023. “It was over Zoom. It was a TikTok live event with Willow Smith and the app’s LGBTQ+ Trailblazers. I interviewed three people and Jesse was one of them. We met on Zoom and just fell in love very quickly.”
Summer 2022: Social Media Official
And though her time on season one of Netflix’s Perfect Match (which aired in 2023) didn’t work out, Francesca knew that fate had bigger plans in store.
In fact, as the reality star shared in a TikTok, “Literally the minute I left that villa, I texted Jesse, and I was like, 'Hey, are you still single? I'm traumatized and do you want to hang out?'"
And the rest is history. Since then, the pair have shared insight into their romance on social media. “We’re just so in love, and I feel that’s obvious with what we post,” she told Elite Daily. “Some couples share a filtered version of the happy times, but they don’t post anything negative. We actually don’t have any negative times. It’s all positive.”
May 2023: Engagement
Two years after they first met, Francesca and Jesse were ecstatic to start a brand new chapter together.
“WE’RE ENGAGED,” Francesca shared in a May 2023 Instagram post, “a glimpse into the most magical night ever, obsessed with our family… what is life!!” Fast forward to early 2024, and the couple made it clear that they were keen on starting a family, even before their nuptials.
"We want a huge wedding, but I think it would be so cute if we had a little baby in our arms or two babies in our arms at the wedding," Francesca exclusively told Live From E! host Laverne Cox at the People’s Choice Awards that February. "So, hopefully we can have a baby first and then do the wedding after."
March 2024: Baby (Soon-to-be) on Board
And as predicted, Francesca and Jesse—who is dad to teenager Arlo from a previous relationship—announced they were expanding their family.
"We wanted to take this special day to celebrate this amazing milestone with all of you," Francesca wrote on Instagram March 31. "We've brought you with us through the loss, so we couldn't wait to bring you along for the win. I am still pretty newly pregnant, and there's so much more to come, but we are so excited to be growing our family with Arlo as the coolest older sibling! AHH IM PREGNANT!"
As for Jesse, he was more than excited to share the news. "We're pregnant!" the influencer, who came out as transgender in 2019, captioned a clip. "Its been such a struggle to get here, but we felt like TDOV was the perfect day to let you all in on our celebration. Im so proud of @Francesca Farago for fighting her way to get here, and I fall more in love with her every day. Thank you for following our journey, and heres to more trans joy!"
April 2024: Double the Love
A week after the pair confirmed Francesca is pregnant, Jesse shared they'll be adding not one but two more members to their family.
"We're having twins," Jesse wrote under his April 7 TikTok. "We know it's early but we're preparing for the best."