In a surprising Mother’s Day announcement, Orange Is the New Black’s Samira Wiley and her wife Lauren Morelli shared that they just welcomed their first child together on April 11, 2021.
“Happy 1st Mother’s Day to my beautiful wife, who four weeks ago today after laboring for almost 3 days gave birth to our first child—our gorgeous daughter, George💜, ” Wiley, 34, said in her heartwarming post before providing more details on the newborn. “Welcome to the world, babygirl. We love you and we thank you for giving us the best 1st Mother’s Day two ladies could ask for. George Elizabeth 4.11.2021 💜.”
Sharing the same photo in her post, Morelli, 38, similarly said, “4 weeks ago today, our daughter came into the world and changed everything. We are so happy, so grateful, and so tired. George Elizabeth, 4.11.21 ❤️.’
If you recall, Wiley and Morelli fell in love while on the set of OITNB — the first big break each of the ladies received in the industry respectively. Amidst the time of their budding friendship turned romantic relationship Morelli (who was a writer on the show) came to terms with her sexuality and queerness — eventually leading to her divorce from her then-husband. Speaking about that time of her life in a 2016 interview, she’d said, “Samira became my outlet, and through that process I fell in love with her.” Noting that she knew she had to end her then-marriage so that she wouldn’t miss out on being with Wiley, Morelli continued, “But I thought, This will be the one that got away. Being with her felt too good to be true.”
Amidst that same interview, Wiley mentioned that being with Morelli taught her “self-love.”
The two ladies got married the following year in Palm Springs, California in an event put on by Martha Stewart Weddings. Both Wiley and morelli wore custom bridal designs by Christian Siriano.
Congrats to both women on their new bundle of joy!