The Tragedies That Have Touched Hallmark Star Nikki DeLoach's Life
Actor and Hallmark star Nikki DeLoach has made a career out of stepping into the roles of a variety of characters. However, that hasn't stopped her from being open about the sad details in her personal life. One such struggle that is very common for new parents is postpartum depression. In an interview with Kate Bowler on the "Everything Happens" podcast, DeLoach described her experience with that following the birth of her and Ryan Goodell's first son, Hudson Goodell.
DeLoach started acting again a few months after giving birth, rejoining her show "Awkward." She thought what she was feeling was normal. "Then I started slipping deeper into it," DeLoach continued, "the mania started, the suicidal tendencies started. All of that started to happen. And I woke up to the fact that I was really not okay." She opened up to her friend Jen Dede about what she was dealing with.
Dede suggested it could be postpartum depression — something DeLoach hadn't even considered since it's not discussed widely. DeLoach was frustrated that after going through the pregnancy and birth, she couldn't be happy. The "Five More Minutes" actor described putting aside the way she was raised, which encouraged keeping things private, and continued, "Because so many women are going through this and I want them to know you are not alone and you are not crazy and you should not carry the shame of this."
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DeLoach's youngest son needed heart surgery after being born
Prior to the birth of Nikki DeLoach and Ryan Goodell's second son Bennett Goodell, the couple were given very scary news. While speaking to People, DeLoach described going in for an ultrasound five months pregnant and realizing something was wrong: "I asked the technician if everything was okay and she said, 'You'll have to wait for the doctor.' I instantly knew in my heart."
She continued, "Then the doctor came in and gave us the news that our baby had multiple heart defects." DeLoach was devastated about the news, describing it as true heartbreak. They got multiple tests done, and they weren't sure if Bennett would survive. She said, "But there were two things that kept me going: my family and my faith."
DeLoach used her experience from her first pregnancy with postpartum depression as an example of why she didn't close herself off. She called her husband Goodell her "anchor" and the experience bonded them even more. Bennett survived the heart surgeries he had shortly after birth. Although it was a difficult experience watching him recover, one of the nurses encouraged DeLoach that everything would be fine — and Bennett was fine. During a promotional video for her Hallmark film "Reunited at Christmas," DeLoach called Bennett "a living, breathing miracle." She got choked up explaining his situation and said, "My baby is gonna be a year old tomorrow, so [miracles] actually really happen."
DeLoach's father had dementia
In her "Everything Happens" interview, Nikki DeLoach said she learned about Bennett Goodell's heart around the same time she learned about her father David DeLoach's diagnosis of Pick's disease. Pick's disease is also known as frontotemporal dementia. In an Alzheimer's Association interview, Nikki said, "Dad's diagnosis of Pick's disease is very rare and affects the frontal lobe of the brain. It is fatal, and very aggressive. This illness completely changes the person. My dad is not the same person he once was." She explained some ways he changed post-diagnosis and said it happened fast, compared to her grandfather's Alzheimer's.
Music was something that connected Nikki and David, and it seemed to help David. Nikki told the outlet, "It's like the music passes right through the disease into his spirit and being." When David passed away in 2021, Nikki shared a tribute on Instagram. In the heartfelt caption, she shared memories and expressed her love for her father, also thanking people who'd been thinking of them.
Nikki had a deeply personal connection to her role in Hallmark's "The Gift of Peace," which is about a grieving woman struggling with her faith. Speaking about the film to The Hollywood Reporter, Nikki talked about her father passing away and said, "We think we have to go through things in isolation and it's just not the way we're supposed to human. This movie is kind of a blueprint of how to find the joy and the light amid the grief."