‘Selling Sunset:’ Maya Vander Shares How She’s Been Coping Following Stillbirth

‘Selling Sunset:’ Maya Vander Shares How She’s Been Coping Following Stillbirth

Netflix hit series “Selling Sunset” may be seen as a scripted reality show like many others, but the cast has continued to demonstrate their real-life on the big screen, expressing and going through honest events.

Cast member Maya Vander went through one of such events that greatly affected her both on and off screen. She recently had a stillbirth at 38 weeks.


Her pregnancy was revealed on the show’s fifth season, where she disclosed that she’d be taking a hiatus from the series to focus on her growing family.


Unfortunately, she shared that she had a stillbirth months after that and very recently has opened up six months after about how she’s been following the devastating experience.


Read on for more details on what she had to say.


Work ‘Is A Healthy Distraction’ For Maya Vander


In an Instagram post, the “Selling Sunset” star shared how she’s been coping with the loss of her child Mason in December.


“I have women (who might be going through something similar) ask me how I’m doing after my stillbirth & pregnancy loss and how I’m able to continue pushing forward with my daily life,” she wrote. “Everyone handles loss in their own way, but for me I find the key is to stay busy – a healthy distraction always keeps me going.”


“My advice is get to work, socialize with people, get your body moving (endorphins), and talk to someone. I know the pain of loss won’t heal overnight, but today is a great day to begin or continue furthering the healing process,” she concluded, adding an angel and a hand emoji.


Last month on the show, she shared that time also helped her move forward. While she felt honored to have other children, she hoped to give birth to more kids later in the future.


“I have my moments, that’s part of grief, and just take this opportunity to raise my voice for stillbirth and pregnancy loss,” she said. “I think part of healing is getting pregnant again. I hope I will, we’ll see.”


The Stillbirth Was The ‘Worst Moment’ Of Her Life


In her interview with Parents, she recounted the devastating experience, calling it the worst moment of her life.


She explained that she was excited about her pregnancy and that everything was going well until she felt fewer baby movements.


“Heartbeat was totally normal. The cord was not close to his neck. So, when I left, I felt good about it with the assumption that my baby is just growing, and he has less room to move. I had two successful deliveries, so the last thing on my mind was thinking the baby is in distress.”


However, Vander got the news a few days later that her child was stillborn and had to be evacuated immediately.


The doctor could not find the heartbeat, and they rushed me to an ultrasound, which confirmed that I lost my baby,” she explained. “I was in complete shock. I called my husband hysterical, and the doctors were devastated too.”


She shared that she was so shocked and confused, adding, “I decided then to connect with him and spend time with him after all. He is our son, the son that was never lucky enough to get our love.”


She Shared The News On Her Instagram


Following the incident, the reality star shared the sad news on her Instagram.


“Yesterday was the hardest day of my life,” she began her Instagram post. “I had a stillbirth at 38 weeks. I always heard of it but never imagined I’ll be part of the statistics.”


She continued, “Instead of delivering a baby, I get to go home with a memory box. I do not wish this on anyone. What was a regular weekly checkup turned into a nightmare that I never imagined would happen to me. Given I share my pregnancies in the show I knew I’ll have to post about this and avoid the ‘when is your due date’ question. You will always be in our heart Mason Miller.”


She also revealed that she was coping with the trauma at the time with support from family and friends and by going to the burial site where her son was buried. However, she noted that she was making slow progress.


“Every day is better in a sense that I am not falling apart. The questions are there, the mixed emotions are there. But I have to push through in order to function.”


An Accident Caused The Stillbirth


Vander also shared that she and her husband David Miller learned, via the autopsy, that the cause of the stillbirth was accidental. This after they spent weeks in the dark with no answers regarding what happened.


“We got the autopsy report about a month ago,” she began. “We just got the autopsy back and it was just a bad accident with the [umbilical] cord mixed with some swallowed placenta.”