The Bachelorette's Emily Maynard Shares Her Scary Pregnancy Symptoms

Emily Maynard opened up about her fifth pregnancy, sharing that she had Bell's palsy while pregnant with her daughter Magnolia Belle last fall (via USA Today). The Bachelorette alum posted a series of Instagram stories telling fans that this wasn't her first bout with Bell's palsy; she'd also had the condition in high school.

The main symptom of Bell's palsy is a sudden weakness in a person's facial muscles (via Mayo Clinic). This results in one side of the face appearing to droop. Although the cause is unknown, medical experts believe it occurs when there is "swelling and inflammation of the nerve that controls the muscles on one side of the face."

The condition typically lasts from two weeks to six months, although in some instances it's permanent. Bell's palsy is more common in pregnant women (via Essential Baby), but Maynard shared that she's one of the few people to experience it twice.

"I had it in high school and lucky me am one of the very few people that get it twice," the reality star wrote on her Instagram story. "It started with a bad headache that got progressively worse and went into my jaw. Thought it was an ear infection but then woke up one morning and couldn't spit out my toothpaste or put on mascara. I knew exactly what it was, so doctor prescribed me a steroid."

Emily Maynard said that even with the medication, the condition got worse before it got better. The star jokingly recalled waking up every morning and racing to the mirror to see if she could whistle or wink. Luckily, both Maynard and her daughter, whose birth she announced in October, are currently healthy. Although she's a public figure, Maynard opted to keep her pregnancy private. "Lots going on in the world at the time and social media/news gave me anxiety, so I just never put it on Instagram," she explained." After a while we decided it would be fun to just surprise everyone with a new baby."

Mayanard shares four children with her husband, Tyler Johnson, and she also has a daughter from her previous relationship with late race car driver Ricky Hendrick.