Need to Know
Chase and Ellie McNary welcomed their first baby, son Cooper Crash, on Saturday, May 10
Their newborn arrived 11 days early, just ahead of Mother’s Day
The milestone comes just shy of a year from the pair’s romantic, mountaintop wedding in Colorado in July 2024
A new Bachelor Nation baby has arrived!
Chase McNary, a previous suitor on JoJo Fletcher’s Bachelorette season and a season 6 Bachelor in Paradise contestant, has welcomed his first baby with wife Ellie McNary (née White). The milestone comes just shy of a year from the pair’s romantic, Colorado mountaintop wedding in July 2024.
Chase and Ellie reveal to PEOPLE exclusively that their son, Cooper Crash, was born 11 days early on Saturday, May 10, just ahead of Mother’s Day.
Chase McNary
Chase and Ellie McNary with their newborn son, Cooper Crash
“The entire experience was intense, fast, instinct-driven and magical, all at the same time,” Chase says, recalling the birth. “Despite the lack of early preparation, Ellie delivered safely and powerfully, and Cooper Crash was born healthy, happy and perfect. We reflected afterward on the beauty and unpredictability of birth — how quickly things can change and how capable the body is when left to do what it was designed to do.”
The entire experience left the couple “in awe of the speed, power and emotional depth of birth.” At this time, Ellie and Cooper “are doing fantastic,” and their little one is “as healthy as can be and passing all his tests with flying colors.”
The PEOPLE App is now available in the Apple App Store! Download it now for the most binge-worthy celeb content, exclusive video clips, astrology updates and more!
“I couldn’t have dreamt up a more perfect delivery and I’m still in such awe of what my body was capable of,” Ellie tells PEOPLE. “It is so beautiful what women experience on the journey of motherhood. I knew I wanted to go unmedicated and as naturally as possible, if my body allowed me, and I can’t believe I was lucky enough to get that experience.”
Chase McNary
Ellie NcNary and Chase McNary with their newborn son, Cooper Crash
“A 15-minute hospital labor is wild, and it all happened so fast, but I’m just thankful he didn’t come in the car on the way in, if I’m being honest,” she says, noting that holding Cooper Crash for the first time was “the biggest, most overwhelming love I never knew existed.”
“Holding him and seeing both me and Chase in his little face has healed parts of me I didn’t even know needed healing,” she adds. “I’m fully wrapped up in this newborn bubble — and honestly, I’m not sure I ever want to come out.”
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Chase McNary
Chase McNary with his newborn son, Cooper Crash
The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!
First-time dad Chase says, “If I didn’t believe in the miracle of life before, I do now.”
“There are no words to describe the feeling I got when I heard that first little cry,” he adds. “It honestly changed me as a man in that instant.”
Read the original article on People
