Jordan Lovato will be joining her husband, Philadelphia Eagles long snapper Rick Lovato, at the Super Bowl for the third time. But this go around, they will have a long-awaited third wheel — their son, Freddie.
“We’ve been through a lot, obviously, with infertility, but we’ve also been with the Eagles for nine years, so we’ve been to two Super Bowls already, and then to now be able to bring our son is just … it’s a dream come true,” Jordan tells TODAY.com just after Freddie, 3 months old, went down for his nap.
The Lovatos waited a long time for that moment.
The couple started trying to get pregnant in the summer of 2022. At her annual checkup, right around the time the Eagles played in the 2023 Super Bowl, Jordan’s gynecologist suspected that PCOS, polycystic ovarian syndrome, made it difficult for her to conceive.
After doing several IUI cycles, Jordan became pregnant in September 2023. She told Rick the good news by surprising him with a baby onesie. They were thrilled.
When Jordan was six weeks along, she was told she had an ectopic pregnancy. Four days later, while she was having life-saving surgery, doctors discovered — and treated — unexpected endometriosis. Because it was football season, Rick couldn’t physically be there with her, but his mother stayed close by.
The next day, Jordan posted the video on social media and explained what happened.
“I don’t really remember what possessed me to share it,” Jordan says. “I feel like my purpose in this is to give people comfort and a window into what it’s actually like.”
Locker rooms aren’t exactly known to be touchy-feely spaces, but the Eagles were amazingly supportive during their fertility struggles.
Tight end Grant Calcaterra revealed to Rick that he was an IVF baby because he wanted Rick to believe that it was possible for him to have a child. And head coach Nick Sirianni “was extremely present on our journey.”
Jordan continued to share her fertility story on social media, and the Lovatos were finally able to conceive via IVF in February 2024.
Though she was overjoyed to be pregnant, “there was also so much fear throughout my whole pregnancy,” she says. “If you’ve been through loss, you know how terrifying it is to get pregnant after that.”
Jordan ultimately gave birth to Frederick Jonah Lovato on Oct. 10, 2024. His first name honors Jordan’s father who passed away when she was 14.
When Rick walked into the locker room after becoming a father, Jordan says he was greeted by “a huge round of applause” from his teammates, which was “really special for him.”
As for her perspective of giving birth during football season, she laughs, “I do not recommend that.”
Jordan plans to take Freddie on his first plane trip to see his dad and the Eagles play in the Super Bowl game against the Kansas City Chiefs on Feb. 9. Rick’s parents and two of Jordan’s sisters will join them on the trip.
Rolling her eyes about the fact that she’s required to buy a game day ticket for Freddie, Jordan says, “He’ll get a seat there … but he can’t sit.” (At not quite 4 months old, little Freddie is a long way from being able to sit up.)
“I bought an inflatable tub, so I might just bring the tub with me and pump it up there and put it in the seat next to me so he can lay down,” she says.
The Super Bowl isn’t Freddie’s first football game, however.
Jordan brought Freddie to congratulate his dad on the field after the Eagles won the NFC Championship on Jan. 26. You can tell from Jordan’s video what a special moment it was for the Lovato family.
Jordan says that women struggling with infertility contact her daily because of her videos, and she’s happy to support others.
