Surprise! Nick Carter and his wife Lauren are expecting baby No. 3!
In this week's issue of PEOPLE, the Backstreet Boys band member and the actress get candid about preparing for their third child after suffering multiple miscarriages throughout the years — and why this pregnancy is a complete (but pleasant!) surprise.
"I was fully set on just having two children and I had prepared for that and made arrangements for that," Lauren, 37, exclusively tells PEOPLE. "We were going to have two children and it was a surprise. I didn't find out I was pregnant till I was about five-and-a-half months pregnant. I didn't have any symptoms, I didn't have anything indicating that I was pregnant. One day I just, I felt something move in my body and I said, 'Nick, there's something not right. I think I need to go to the doctor. Something's wrong with me.' I was not supposed to be able to have any more children, so I never assumed that I was pregnant."
The couple, who tied the knot in 2014, share son Odin, 4, and daughter Saoirse, 15 months.
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She continues, "I thought I had a tumor because there was just no way that I could be pregnant, from just my medical history and the things that I did to ensure that I just had my two children." Adds Lauren: "Even Nick, like a couple of weeks prior to that, was talking about possibly getting a surrogate, possibly having a third child. It was just something we were talking about."
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"With everything that 2020 has given to the entire world, I look at it as a blessing," says Nick, 40. "We love our two children and we pride ourselves in being great parents."
In 2018, the pair revealed that they had lost a baby girl after suffering a miscarriage. However, Lauren tells PEOPLE she has actually suffered "multiple miscarriages."
"My last, the one before Saoirse was a second-term loss, which is more, just more traumatic and there's a lot that goes into it," says Lauren. "[It was] similar to what Chrissy Teigen went through. When she came out with her story, we were so happy because we were like, 'Wow, other people are open and sharing their stories and it's not so taboo.' People go through it and I was actually very grateful that they shared as much as they did and as in depth as they did, because I mean, no one talks about it."
Adds Nick: "Everyone goes through it."
While Lauren says there's no right way to grieve the loss of a pregnancy, she's learned valuable lessons along the way.
"I just have to let go because you realize when you go through miscarriages and you have trouble keeping pregnant, that you have no control," she says. "No matter what you do, no matter what vitamins you take, no matter how healthy you eat, no matter if you're not using any products that have chemicals in them, doesn't matter. If your body's going to work out, it's going to work itself out. If not, it's not. You could be the healthiest and then fall or get in a car accident, something. So I just had to let go because I really … I do what I can do and then other than that, I've learned that I have no control. It's not my fault, it's not Nick's fault. It's no one's fault. It's just, that's just destiny."
While Lauren admits that the losses are "horrifying," she's choosing to focus on her blessings.
"I've had three, and so now with this third child, I feel like all my children have come back to me," she says.
Now, the Carters — who have been quarantining at their Las Vegas home during the pandemic — are looking forward to welcoming the newest member of their family, who is set to arrive this April.
"For us, it's all about just creating an environment for our children that is peaceful," says Nick.
"I have always wanted to love somebody, someone unconditionally and give everything to those people, my wife, my kids, and be selfless," he adds. "Now that I have it, yes, I am living my dream and I am very grateful for that and very blessed."
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