For The Vampire Diaries alum Candice King, expecting her third baby — her first with fiancé Steven Krueger — has been a dream come true.
“My fiancé and I are so excited. It’s such a joy,” King, 38, exclusively told Us Weekly after announcing her pregnancy on Monday, December 8, following a babymoon trip to Aruba. ”It’s something that we’re not only enthusiastic about right away. That is something we’ve been daydreaming about so it’s lovely to be here right away celebrating it.”
King revealed she’s almost “halfway through” her pregnancy. “I’m due in May of 2026,” she shared. “I realize it’s form of crazy to be at that nearly halfway point. … Crucial thing [for us] is a completely satisfied, healthy mama and baby. At each little milestone and appointment, that’s been a giant celebration.”
While preparing for his or her baby’s arrival, King and Krueger, 36, found the time to bask within the exciting news with a getaway.
“I actually have never been to Aruba. Now I’m like, ‘Why aren’t all of us going to Aruba on a regular basis?’ We live in Nashville, Tennessee, so it’s really near get all the way down to those islands,” she explained. “The travel was very easy. I’d normally be the individual that can be planning all of this and going above and beyond.”
This time around King prioritized leisure, telling Us, “After we went to Japan earlier this 12 months, it was pages of itineraries all the way down to the hour and the minute. What we were really craving was simply to loosen up and go somewhere close by. We desired to go somewhere where I could feel secure and where we could feel healthy.”
The trip was extremely meaningful for the couple.
“Especially still being inside that early a part of my pregnancy, Aruba was just perfect. It had beaches, sun and fruit,” she gushed. “I forget how essential it’s to give you the option to be present — especially while pregnant — when an important thing is to wind down and really listen to your body, your emotional state and the way essential that’s simply to be by the water.”
King added: “[We got to] benefit from the sun, hydrate, eat the fruit and get massages. On the island, I didn’t know you could possibly drive from the highest to the underside of the island in 40 minutes. You’ll be able to really explore. But in addition you’ll be able to just chill — and it was essential for somebody like me.”
King rose to fame playing Caroline Forbes on TVD from 2009 to 2017. Krueger, meanwhile, played the role of Josh Rosza on The Vampire Diaries spinoff, The Originals. During her time on The CW series, Candice began dating Joe King. The pair, who got married in 2014, expanded their family with daughters Florence and Josephine in 2016 and 2020, respectively, before their split after greater than a decade together.
After launching her romance with Krueger in 2023, Candice has documented milestones from their relationship — all the way in which as much as her current pregnancy.
“I like being a mother, it’s my favorite role,” she told Us. “There’s so many things that Steven does as a partner and as [my daughters’] stepfather each day that he already shows me how wonderful of a father he’s and can be.”
Their little ones! Candice Accola, Claire Holt and more stars from The Vampire Diaries franchise have offered a glimpse at their families off screen. The Texas native welcomed her first daughter with Joe King in January 2016. “I’m in love again,” Accola wrote alongside an Instagram shot of her baby’s feet. The couple later expanded […]
The news has brought Candice’s family even closer together.
“After we told the kids together that we were having a baby, my 5-year-old said, ‘It’s my kid.’ She’s had an obsession with babies since she was a baby. Some kids throw temper tantrums in restaurants for a wide range of reasons and her reason would normally be because she desired to go hang around with the child a couple of tables over,” Candice recalled. “They’re so excited and it’s been obviously something really beautiful for us all to enjoy together on this process … There’s been quite a lot of laughs to this point — and I imagine there can be more to return.”
It is a big 12 months for Candice and Krueger, who announced their engagement six months ago, telling Us, “We announced in May because his birthday is in May and so is mine. We celebrated just him and I together on a visit to Japan, which was very funny to be wearing a hoop after which being so excited to post photos from the trip. But I couldn’t post any of those once we still needed to share the news with family. It was really lovely to have that point together. It almost felt like our own little honeymoon.”
Looking ahead, the pair aren’t in a rush to tie the knot.
“[Wedding planning is] going well if you don’t overplan, which is admittedly hard for me. I’m very type A personality nevertheless it has been actually nice to give you the option to not overplan,” she teased. “We’re definitely planning something special and right away an important thing is [my health].”
King continued: “We’ve got our own little daydreams and concepts. It was very nice to give you the option to go and loosen up somewhere like Aruba for a babymoon. Having the ability to just go away along with your partner and settle in and take into consideration what’s coming. We’re so excited obviously to rejoice with our family and friends, and to be married. There’s also quite a lot of exciting work stuff coming up next 12 months too. We’re relocating back as much as Nova Scotia to film season 2 of We Were Liars and it’s easy to get overwhelmed. But versus doing that, we are only cruising.”