Ruthie Ann Miles Expecting Third Child 2 Years After Losing Daughter and Unborn Baby in Tragic Accident
Ruthie Ann Miles is going to be a mom again.
The Broadway star and All Rise actress, 36, revealed on social media that she and husband Jonathan Blumenstein are expecting a child, due this spring.
“We’d like to announce our very happy news: We are expecting another child this spring!” Miles wrote in an emotional post shared to Instagram and Twitter on Saturday.
Their baby on the way comes two years after an unspeakable tragedy.
In March 2018, Miles’ 5-year-old daughter Abigail Joy was struck and killed by a driver in Brooklyn, New York.
Miles, who was seven months pregnant at the time of the accident with a baby girl she planned to name Sophia Rosemary, sustained injuries herself and two months later, suffered a miscarriage. The driver, who later died by suicide, also struck and killed 1-year-old Joshua Lew and injured his mother, Miles’ friend Lauren.
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Following the accident, Miles retreated from public life to grieve privately. She slowly made her return to work — first, reprising her Tony-winning role as Lady Thiang in the West End revival of The King and I, then performing at a benefit concert for Camelot at Lincoln Center, before joining the cast of the CBS procedural All Rise, playing judge’s assistant Sherri Kansky.
The time away was crucial for Miles to heal, she said in her announcement post on Saturday.
“Thank you especially to the many of you who supported us in the aftermath of the crash, continually lifted us up in prayer, doused us with love, encouraged us, let us be and grieve these two years, and now rejoice with us in this new life,” Miles said.
“We know Abigail Joy and Sophia would have loved being big sisters and are loving watching their family grow,” she added, signing the note, “Love, Jonathan and Ruthie Ann.”
Miles has received an outpouring of love and support from the Broadway community after her accident, many contributing to a GoFundMe page for her and her family.
“Ruthie is so loved by so many people in this community,” a source previously told PEOPLE. “No one has the words to express how devastating this is. Everyone in this community will do as much as we can. The only thing we can do is just raise more and more money right now. But we will be there for her.”
That same support came Miles’ way on Saturday. Among the commenters were stars Ben Platt, Judy Kuhn, Liz Callaway, as well as producer Jordan Roth and director Alex Timbers.
“Joyous news,” wrote Lin-Manuel Miranda on Twitter, alongside a sea of hearts.
“Oh Ruthie!!!! So many blessings! We love you so,” said Laura Benanti on Instagram.
“I’m so happy for you,” added Jesse Tyler Ferguson on Instagram.
“This is the beautiful news we all needed right now,” Frozen composer Kristen Anderson-Lopez wrote on Twitter.
Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket/Getty Ruthie Ann Miles
A source previously told PEOPLE at the time of her accident that Miles was “a wonderful mother” who “always put Abigail first and was really dedicated to spending time together.”
“The two had a very tight bond,” the source said. “They were inseparable.”
A friend close to Miles told PEOPLE in May 2018 that Miles was distraught after losing both children.
“Ruthie is simply not doing well. The only consolation she had in Abigail’s death was the fact that her unborn baby had survived. But now losing that baby? She’s crushed to her core,” the friend said. “She loved being a mom. She couldn’t wait to expand her family. Losing those kids, it’s destroyed her. How can she even survive this? It’s taking every bit of her faith to find a way through.”
As for how she got through it, Miles appeared to lean on her husband.
“Everyone in her life is rallying around Ruthie, as we have since the accident, but both she and Jonathan are really holding one another up through this,” another friend of Miles told PEOPLE in May 2018. “They’re deep in the grieving process.”
The friend added, “They have a very strong bond, and that’s the one thing that hasn’t broken at all. If anyone will forge this path, it’s them. It’s just so sad, though. She’s going through unspeakable pain. You talk to her and you can just hear it in her voice — a part of her soul is gone.”
In August 2018, Miles triumphantly took to the stage again in The King and I. “She is singing like an angel and commanding the stage with a heavenly force,” costar Kelli O’Hara, 43, tweeted at the time. “An inspiration to all. I knew you would want to know.”
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