Ellie Kemper Is Pregnant and Did a "Terrible" Job Hiding It

No one knew except Tina Fey.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Raise a glass of bubbly (or coffee, depending on what time of day you're reading this), because Ellie Kemper just casually announced her pregnancy to Jimmy Fallon/the world. Yay! Or rather:

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(Image credit: Giphy)

Turns out Kemper has actually been "with child" (to use the worst term ever) for some time now, but managed to keep the early days of her pregnancy on the DL while filming Netflix's The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. That is, until she found out her character was supposed to ride a roller coaster. 

"I was Googling 'pregnant women on roller coasters,'" she said. "Some women do. Some real thrill seekers. It was still very early on, but I felt like a pregnant lady on a roller coaster is not ideal. So, I had to tell my boss, Tina Fey. Maybe you've heard of her. She knows every secret. I told her before I told my mom. You can trust her and you cannot trust my mom."

Because Kemper and her husband, Michael Koman, had only recently found out about the pregnancy, she and Tina decided to tell the crew that she'd injured her back—which seems like a pretty simple lie. Or not.

"Someone said, 'Oh, what's wrong?' And words escaped me. 'I sprained my spine,'" she said. "You can't do that! I'm a bad liar. I kept forgetting I had one, so I kept doing things someone with a back injury can't do. Like, they'd yell 'lunch' and I'd leap up and cartwheel to catering. You're not supposed to do that...It was terrible. I think everyone could see right through it."

Watch Kemper's full interview with Fallon below:

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Mehera Bonner
Entertainment Editor

Mehera Bonner is a celebrity and entertainment news writer who enjoys Bravo and Antiques Roadshow with equal enthusiasm. She was previously entertainment editor at Marie Claire and has covered pop culture for over a decade.