The Bachelor alum Sarah Herron and her fiance Dylan Brown have revealed the tragic news that their newborn son Oliver passed away just hours after his birth.
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"On January 28th, at 24 weeks old, our beautiful son Oliver Brown was born. He passed away in his dad's arms shortly after," Sarah, 36, wrote Wednesday on Instagram.
"There are no words for the magnitude of loss and pain we're experiencing. It's beautiful and simultaneously tragic. He had my nose and his dad's mouth and long fingers."
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Sarah posted a slideshow of photos -- including pictures of her baby bump, smiling images with Dylan and her dog, and a sea-turtle Christmas ornament with Oliver's name on it.
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The pictures culminated in a devastating photo of Sarah crying in bed while wearing her hospital gown, seemingly right after she lost her son. Dylan was kissing her on the forehead, trying to comfort her.
Sarah continued in her post, "Oliver, our IVF miracle defied so many odds and fought through so many hard milestones to be here, but the higher powers still had other plans for the three of us."
"Our time together was short, but we are grateful for the days we had with Oliver in my belly. He has taught us so much about the integrity of life, love and death. Oliver filled our home and hearts with so much love and most importantly, optimism."
Sarah shared how "the stars aligned" to create Baby Oliver "with a deep, meaningful purpose bigger than we'll ever understand."
Sarah wrote, "His body was small, but his legacy will always be larger than life to us."
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The Bachelor alum went on to recall some precious moments she had while pregnant with Oliver.
"Oliver swam with sea turtles, he kept me company while I recovered from a broken knee, and he loved his dad's cooking. Most of all, Oliver loved his morning routine of laying heart to heart with his brother, Rio, on my lap," Sarah wrote.
"While our hearts are shattered beyond comprehension, we are comforted knowing that our son's soul only ever knew love and will not suffer in a body that wasn't built for this life."
Sarah, however, said she and Dylan will "never understand the cruelty of it all."
"But through the darkness, Oliver remains so so bright. We love you so much, baby boy. You will never be replaced. You are so perfect and awesome. Love, Mommy and Daddy," she concluded.
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Many members of Bachelor Nation reached out to Sarah to share their sympathies, condolences, support and encouragement.
"Oh sweet Sarah. I'm so sorry. I truly have no words. Oliver will remain a shining light in this world for you and Dylan. I wish there was more I could do or say. I will keep you both in my prayers and pray specifically for Gods grace that surpasses all understanding," commented Emily Maynard.
"I'm so beyond sorry any my heart is absolutely broken for you. Every time I logged on to Instagram I was so exited to see an update from you. I know it's hard to believe now, but god is going to redeem your story in such a big way. I promise."
Clare Crawley wrote, "Oliver you are so loved.️ Sarah you are the most amazing mother and your strength through everything to fight so hard for your son has been nothing less than beautiful to witness."
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Ashley Spivey wrote how she'd "do anything" to take the pain away from Sarah, adding, "Oliver will always be with you and I know you and Dylan will keep his memory alive no matter what. He will visit you in small ways and you will live for those moments... Love you so much."
Catherine Giudici said she wished she could hug Sarah at that very moment, writing, "What a heartbreaking experience for you, precious mama. Sending you so much love and praying for you both right now."
And Raven Gates commented, "I'm so sorry, Sarah. Words don't even do justice. Praying for you both for the days ahead. Oliver only knew love & he himself IS love."
Sarah announced she was expecting her first child in late September 2022 after trying to conceive for two years, beginning in 2020. Her baby was due in May 2023.
"Our embryo transfer was a success and I am pregnant with our baby boy! Our little 5day embryo nestled in comfortably... As you may have suspected, we received our first positive HCG test within hours of me breaking my knee," Sarah wrote of her IVF journey.
"Two days later, my betas doubled, and this week we saw our baby's heartbeat flicker for the first time. Surreal doesn't begin to describe how it's all felt. I've spent the first 3.5 weeks of my pregnancy on bed rest, nourishing myself and putting all of my energy into growing bones and organs."
Sarah said she had been on "a miraculous path," adding, "The road ahead is long and I know we'll be holding our breath until the day our baby is earth side with us."
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Sarah revealed in May 2021 that she got engaged to Dylan after four years of dating.
"We are thrilled to share the announcement of our engagement! In our favorite place, with close friends and Rio, Dylan popped the question in front of Mount Sopris," Sarah captioned a slideshow of photos of the marriage proposal on the rocks by the water.
Sarah and Dylan were apparently joined by their dog Rio and close friends in the Colorado mountains.
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"To everyone who thinks life has to go in one particular order, or by a specific time... IT DOESN'T. I'd wait a lifetime all over again -- through the heartbreaks, years of self-work and countless Rose Ceremonies -- to end up with this person," she gushed at the time.
"We make each other better, we have so much fun and we're going to become parents together, so we decided to do the damn thing! 5.15.21 My forever paradise, favorite adventure bud and BEST friend, @dylan.h.brown."
But Sarah shared how she and Dylan had a lot on their plates and so they decided to put wedding plans on hold.
"[We] will resume planning once baby is here," Sarah told Us Weekly following her engagement. "The idea of our little baby getting to attend our wedding with mom and dad someday feels really beautiful to me, so we'll wait until that day is right."
Sarah, who competed on Sean Lowe's The Bachelor season in 2013, began dating the filmmaker in March 2017.
One month later, Sarah and Dylan went Instagram official when she shared a picture of the couple and gushed, "Happily not returning to Bachelor in Paradise this summer." She added the hashtags "Paradise Found" and "adventurebuds" to her post at the time.
Sarah also previously appeared on Season 1 of Bachelor in Paradise in 2014, when she dated Robert Graham, followed by Season 3 of BIP when she found herself caught in a love triangle with Daniel Maguire and Christian Bishop.
Sarah chose to date Daniel, a wise-cracking goofball, instead of Christian -- a decision many fans criticized because Christian had treated Sarah wonderfully on a date in Mexico and seemed to have honorable dating intentions.
Although Daniel did appear to develop genuine feelings for Sarah, he admitted to cameras he just needed a rose in order to stay on the ABC reality dating show longer.
Once it became time for Daniel to hand a rose to Sarah, he gave it to Haley Ferguson instead. Haley, one of the bubbly blonde twins from Ben Higgins' season of The Bachelor, is now married.
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