Michael Phelps’ Wife Explains Why She ‘Bawled’ After Learning She Was Pregnant

Michael Phelps’ wife Nicole Phelps had some complicated feelings when she learned she was pregnant with her fourth son.

The 39-year-old appeared on the Between Us Moms podcast and shared that when she discovered she was pregnant with the couple’s now 14-month-old son Nico, she initially had to sit down and cry. “I was done. I was convinced I was done,” Nicole said on the podcast.

“That was it. We had our three. That’s all I ever wanted,” she went on. “And then I got pregnant with Nico and that was completely unexpected. So he’s our bonus baby. And I’m so grateful that he’s here today. But it definitely was not easy.”

Alongside Nico, the couple is parents to sons Boomer, 8, Beckett, 7, and Maverick, 5.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

When asked if she was upset upon finding out she was pregnant, Nicole admitted that she was.

“So when I took my test, we had just gone to Boomer’s kindergarten mother-father day celebration,” she said. “And I sat in the room and cried and I’m not a crier. And they read this book about our last. So it was all about the last [thing] that you experienced. And I bawled.”

“So that’s completely abnormal. Just not me. So I didn’t think too much of it, but I was like, ‘Okay, something’s off. Something’s not right.’ So I came home, took a test,” Nicole remembered.

Once she found out she was expecting another baby, Nicole said that she was initially scared to tell her Olympic athlete husband, since they hadn’t intended to grow their family.

“I thought he would lose it if he found out we had another kid,” Nicole said. “I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, where is our life headed?’ Literally the week prior, I had thought my life was laid out.”

The mom of four revealed she had been planning to go back to school and study equine therapy and felt like she was prioritizing herself for the first time in a while.

“I felt good. And it had been a long time since I had taken focus off everything else and just focused on me,” she said. “And I was like, ‘Okay, this is where I want to be.’ I recognize Maverick will be full-time [in] school next year. Things were good.”

“So yeah, it was a big wake-up call…100%. I wouldn’t take it back,” added Nicole.

At the end of March, Nicole again got candid about how she felt back in 2023 when she first learned she was expecting her fourth son as she shared a photo of herself and her baby son on Instagram.

“I’m grateful… I’m grateful for the life I have today ✨🥰,” she began. “Can I be honest tho… I had so much grief when I learned I was pregnant with Nico. My whole life as I thought I was about to live was flipped upside down and I was seriously depressed with the thought of another baby.”

“It took time and patience with myself to come out of those feelings and from the day he came into our world I’ve been overjoyed. I had no idea the change it would bring our whole family,” she continued. “The love I would witness and continue to witness everyday amongst the boys. I’ve said it before … he’s our family baby … and it is one of the best things life has gifted me.”