Hallmark's Alison Sweeney Had Her Second Child Hours After Leaving The Biggest Loser Set
Alison Sweeney is a Hallmark Channel fan-favorite, whether she is sparking the passion in movies such as "The Wedding Veil Journey" or bringing a bit of suspenseful drama into the network's Movies and Mysteries genre. Today, we're so used to seeing Sweeney alongside romantic male leads like Cameron Mathison that it's easy to forget she was the host of "The Biggest Loser" for nearly a decade. The "Open By Christmas" actor has opened up about leaving "The Biggest Loser" and revealed that she has some great memories of the show and enjoyed her time as host.
But probably one memory tops them all — when she had a baby right after leaving the set! In 2009, Sweeney was expecting her second child with husband Dave Sanov. Instead of taking time off prior to her impending delivery, she chose to work right up until her due date, or what she thought would be her due date. However, that day came sooner than she expected after a routine visit for a prenatal check-up.
The Hallmark star was fresh from filming, sporting a full face of makeup and coiffed hair when she arrived for her appointment, only to find out that her baby, a daughter they named Megan Hope, would be arriving that day!
Alison Sweeney had to be induced
Speaking to People, Sweeney noted how she was exhausted from a marathon filming session when she arrived at the appointment. It's when the doctor went to complete the check-up that things went awry; she recalled, "My doctor was a little concerned and said, 'I don't want to leave her in there one more day!'" And so, Sweeney was prepped for an induction, finally getting to meet her newest little one at 11:48 that evening.
Not realizing her baby would soon be in her arms, Sweeney noted that her husband, Dave Sanov, had to hurry to the hospital. Fortunately, he made it just in time, and things reportedly went very easy for the second-time mom. Later, the actor gushed to People that the newest member of their family totally has her dad smitten. The same goes for her older brother, Ben, who "pets her on the head and calls her cutie-pie!"
Sweeney made an equally quick transition back to work after giving birth. Entertainment Tonight reported that she returned to the "Biggest Loser" set just eight days after her baby's surprise arrival. We can only imagine how stressed she must have felt to lose the baby weight prior to hosting the infamous weight loss journey series.
Her experience led her to write a book
Following the birth of her second child and a likely intense amount of pressure to drop weight before the season finale of "The Biggest Loser," Alison Sweeney reflected on how to slim down postpartum. She decided to turn her experience into a book, "The Mommy Diet." Speaking to theBump, Sweeney said that the most important part of fitness after a baby is "not to put too much pressure on yourself to lose weight quickly after the baby is born." Her timeline was likely quicker than most due to Hollywood production schedules.
Nevertheless, she has come out and said it actually took her months to drop the pounds, crediting sly camera tricks and wise clothing choices with her appearance on television following daughter Megan's arrival. Not only did she go back to "The Biggest Loser" just over a week after delivery, but apparently she was also filming "Days of Our Lives" just two weeks after her daughter's grand entrance. Following the tips she laid out in her book, the mom of two relied upon healthy eating and exercising to get back in shape, citing her role as host as a major motivator.
Though "The Biggest Loser" is now a thing of the past for the Hallmark leading lady, it will always be intertwined with her daughter's birth story and postpartum journey.