'The Bachelorette' alum Shawn Booth welcomes his first baby -- "I'm speechless"

The Bachelorette alum Shawn Booth has welcomed his first child into the world.


Shawn posted a photo of his newborn's feet in the hospital on Wednesday, December 13 via Instagram Stories.

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"Baby Booth arrived yesterday and is healthy & perfect," The Bachelorette 11 alum captioned the sweet image.

Shawn called his baby's mother, Audrey "Dre" Joseph, an "absolute rockstar" in his post.


"[She] did incredible! Everything went super smooth and we couldn't be more grateful. Best feeling in the world," Shawn gushed.

Shawn, however, chose not to reveal his baby's gender and name.

Shawn later thanked everyone for their messages, calls and prayers in a video posted by the new mom to her own Instagram Stories.

"We are so, so fortunate and grateful. Baby Booth is perfect, and Dre is doing absolutely amazing," Shawn said.

"She's a rockstar who killed it in there. It was so awesome to watch, and she's recovering so good right now. And big thank you to all the nurses. Nurses are the best people in the world, especially labor and delivery nurses, and nurses in postpartum. All nurses -- you guys rock and made this absolutely seamless for us."


Shawn concluded, "It's been the best couple of days ever... We couldn't be happier. This is amazing and I'm speechless. It is awesome."

Shawn first announced he's going to be a father on the July 17 episode of his podcast, but he didn't reveal the identity of his then-pregnant partner.

Shawn then unveiled the special woman in his life, Dre, and dished about her pregnancy during the July 24 episode of his "In the Booth With Shawn Booth" podcast.

"This is a very special episode.... In the hot seat, we've got a very gorgeous lady here, a beautiful mama. I think the kids like to call them 'MILFs.' Ladies and gentlemen, the lady you've been waiting for all week, Audrey 'Dre' Joseph," Shawn began.

"Folks, she is pregnant. She is now 19 weeks," the gym owner and personal trainer added. "We've figured out the names of the baby, potentially, boy or girl. We've got them locked in!"


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Dre told Shawn's listeners that the pregnancy was "definitely a shock" for her. And she recalled how she "started showing extremely early," when she and Shawn had been hoping to keep the news private.

"You can't really keep it low key when 12 weeks in, you look down, and [you see a bump]," Dre said.

Shawn confessed at the time how he was probably going to be a little squeamish at the hospital.

"I think he should go down there and cut the cord and be there and watch," Dre said.


But Shawn countered, "I've always said, for my whole life, 'I can't watch that.' I just want to stay by the head to give some moral support."

He reasoned, however, "I feel like every dad I talked to [makes me think] I'm just, like, going to have to go in there and just frickin' get some gloves on and help that thing out."

Shawn anticipated that he'd get nauseous once he saw all the blood come out, but Dre called him out on what she thought was really going on.

"Is it that or you don't want to see a place you're so familiar with like that? Be honest," Dre asked.

Shawn laughed and confessed, "I mean, it might be a little bit of the latter, but that sounds so terrible to say."


Dre proceeded to ask, "But it's like, what? You're not going to want to use it again?"

"No, of course not," Shawn responded. "I didn't say that. I don't know. I think it's just a queasy, crazy thing. But the more I think about it -- with it being my baby -- I don't think that way as much."

Dre is from a little town outside of Austin, TX, and she's been living in Nashville for seven years. She met Shawn about five years ago when his gym first opened up and she was hired to take photos at the grand opening.

When Shawn first announced he's going to become a dad, he shared some insight into his relationship with Dre and how they've been "close... for years."

Shawn elaborated, "We've had a relationship and we've dated. This just isn't some random girl I met at Honky Tonk Central. This is a big surprise for the both of us, I mean, to be open and honest. This wasn't something that was planned."

The Bachelorette alum went on to say that the baby will probably end up being "the most beautiful surprise" he's "ever had" in his life.


"And it's going to be very special. I can't wait," Shawn gushed. "I'm ready. I'm 37 years old. I've always wanted to be a dad."

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Shawn boasted about how the mom-to-be was going to be an excellent mother.

"And it's going to be incredible. It's very overwhelming," The Bachelorette alum said.

"And it's also tough, too, for the dad because it takes a while to really fully grasp that you're having a kid -- your body's not changing, you're not dealing with all the hormones, and you want to, as much as you can, help out."

But Shawn acknowledged how fathers-to-be "can't really do anything" until their baby is born.


"So she's been an absolute champ, a rock star through it all," Shawn gushed, adding, "There was never a point where I was freaking out -- never."

Shawn found fame when he competed on Kaitlyn Bristowe's season of The Bachelorette in 2015.

Shawn proposed marriage to Kaitlyn on The Bachelorette's eleventh season, but they called it quits more than three years later.

Kaitlyn revealed in April that she believes Shawn Booth had used her for professional gain towards the end of their relationship.

During the April 3 episode of her ex-fiance Jason Tartick's "Trading Secrets" podcast, Kaitlyn accused Shawn of dragging out their romance after the show in order to benefit from her income and success.

"It was getting down to the end where we both just didn't see it going anywhere," Kaitlyn recalled of November 2018 breakup with Shawn. "But it felt like he was hanging on until his gym opened. And that's where I felt used professionally."


Kaitlyn recalled having a "power struggle" with Shawn after The Bachelorette ended in which he often allegedly felt emasculated.

Back in November 2021, Shawn said of his relationship with Kaitlyn on the "Austin AF" podcast, "I don't know if it was true, true love. I guess it wasn't because we'd still be together if it was."

Shawn explained at the time, "Of course, you're thinking it's love. But you're put in a situation where you're completely secluded from the world. You can't talk to your friends, you can't talk to your family," according to Us Weekly.

When Kaitlyn announced her split from Shawn, she claimed they had "important fundamental values" that didn't line up.

But Shawn reportedly thought it was "disrespectful" that Kaitlyn moved on with Jason in early 2019.

"Everybody deals with breakups in a different way. That was her way of dealing with a breakup -- getting right into it and wanting to share it with the world," Shawn said.


"We weren't together she was able to do whatever she wanted to do. So it didn't really matter how I felt. The biggest takeaway I took from that was, 'Okay, this is, like, a good move that we ended.' Let's rip off the band-aid completely."

In December 2021, Kaitlyn candidly discussed Shawn's "bitter" comments about their broken engagement, including how he didn't think they had found "true love."

Kaitlyn told Us at the time how she didn't listen to Shawn's interview but she was still hurt by what she heard or read about it.

"People told me about it, but it actually just made me a little sad because he had every opportunity to just be happy for me and be happy at where he's at in life. And he just still seems a little bitter," Kaitlyn shared.

"And I was just confused by that because it's been three years and I thought maybe he would just, you know, we'd want each other to be happy."

She added, "It made me sad that he said he didn't think it was real love or we'd still be together. Obviously, his experience was different than mine."


Kaitlyn said in March 2019 how she "wasn't feeling loved" and felt "alone" in her relationship with Shawn for over a year.

She even confessed to having put on an "act" for her social-media followers before the breakup.

Kaitlyn concluded of Shawn in late 2021, "I genuinely hope he's just happy in what he's doing. Because at this point, I mean, that would be weird if I felt any other way."

Kaitlyn and Jason have since ended their engagement and called it quits, and Shawn recently wished her well in her future dating efforts.

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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski