Exclusive: Jackie Cruz Shares How Her Spirituality and Faith in Her Body Helped Her Conceive Twins Naturally

Jackie Cruz is just a couple of weeks away from one of the most transformative experiences in her life: the birth of her twin babies.

The 35-year-old Dominican American actress is ready to embark on her new journey as a first-time mother alongside her husband Fernando Garcia. Last year, the couple decided to take a natural route into conceiving after being told by doctors that their chances were low, and they would need to undergo fertility treatments if they wanted to get pregnant.

Cruz sat down with People Chica and shared exclusive insights on how moving to Oaxaca has been, tapping into the power of Taino Goddess Atabey, eating healthy and trusting her body—all things she credits to facilitating the pregnancy of her dreams.

You said that pregnancy has made you feel sexy. What have you learned about your body throughout this transformative process?

That it really does do miracles. I have a huge belly, and I'm like, "Wow, seriously, I have three heartbeats in me right now." No wonder I cry for everything. I'm super emotional—well, that's always been my case—but it's just been such a beautiful experience, just creating life inside you.

Your skin looks amazing. You're definitely rocking that pregnancy glow. Are you doing anything differently?

Oh, honey, my family is Dominican, they're like "don't scratch yourself, don't touch it! Put on cocoa and shea butter!" I have [many] family secrets. I don't know about the stretch marks, but so far—knock on wood—I haven't gotten any yet. But who knows? If I get them, it's just [battle scars].

In addition to the shea butter, what else do you use?

I have been using this rose water and I just spray my belly [with it, as well as] rose hip oil [and] vitamin E. Just all natural stuff. But the main ingredient right now is cocoa butter, the usual back in the day rituals. I just use everything that is 100% [natural]. If I can't pronounce the ingredient, I'm not going to put it on my belly. People are telling me that I'm still glowing. I thought the glowing part was over, because now I only have like a month, maybe a month and a half or less up until the day.

What has pregnancy been like for you?

I could do this again. I never liked to show my belly [before pregnancy], I was always insecure about that, and now I have the biggest belly in the world and when I was home [in Oaxaca] I'd just walk around naked. I don't know how I'm going to feel when I give birth because it's my first, but it's been such a glorious God-given beautiful creative experience. I've been so creative, I've been writing [and] working on a lot of projects. I have a lot of seeds everywhere—maybe it's because I got three brains right now.

I've been listening to a lot of classical music and Blues. I sing to them at all times, which feels great because when I sing, sometimes they flutter, and I know that they're listening. So it feels really, really cool, everything is just wonderful. Even though I'm having twins, it's just been easy.

Are you planning on having them in the hospital or at home?

Yeah, hospital. It's my first time and I don't know what I'm doing. If something's up [or] if I need an emergency C-section, I don't want to screw it up. I just want them to be safe and healthy, and me to come out safe and healthy. So, I will have them at a hospital in Maryland.

What's something that you think that your kids are going to teach you, especially now that you have a boy and a girl coming?

Children are the best teachers, so I'm about to learn everything. They're going to teach me patience. They're going to teach me the true meaning of love. I love my husband, but I hear that when you have a child [it's] like "wow." I love my family. I love my sister Isabella, she was like my first, she's 14. I'm really excited for them to teach me about everything.

I'm just really excited [about] this journey and I get to experience it with Fernando, someone that I've known already for eight years. Having twins feels like I'm on the right path and everything I ever dreamed of. I feel that it's going to happen all at once. I just wanted one and God blessed me with a bouquet, and I'm just like, "I'll take it." I just feel really excited about what they can teach me, and especially having a boy and a girl.

You initially had some issues conceiving naturally, but decided you'd give your body a chance before you tried other avenues. This is something that many women across the globe experience, and sometimes they feel like something's wrong with them or that they are inadequate because it takes them longer. What would you tell them?

I lived in L.A. for a year and a half right before the pandemic hit. I just felt like every time I went to the doctor, they made me feel like I couldn't do it on my own. My husband is really into health and wellness, what you eat and put in your body. I never believed that I could do it because of the doctors. So, it's really that mental [aspect] sometimes. We [decided to drive] to Mexico from L.A. in my little Jeep with four dogs. [We] stuffed my car and just left. People thought we were crazy, and it was dangerous, and it was smooth sailing because if that's the mentality you have, then that's what the universe and God is going to give you.

We drove all the way to Oaxaca and then he's like, "all right, Jackie, can you trust me here?" I'm like, "all right." He told me "we're going to do raw veganism, we're going to clean your body, you're going to meditate, and you're going to believe that you can do this." I started eating raw, and I started believing [that I could]. I started saying, "I'm pregnant." Even when I wasn't pregnant, I was just like, "I'm pregnant. I know it. I feel it. I can do this."

"I was manifesting it within myself: going to the ocean, I was even praying to Atabey. She's the Taino goddess of fertility and water, and I would just be in the ocean. I'm like, 'Girl, can you help me out here?'"

We heard that you're hosting two baby showers. What was that like?

I've had three, because I have five moms. I have to admit that the Mexican one was really great because Fernando surprised me with a ceremony at the end. They all dressed up in white, it was very intimate.

It was his siblings and his mother and his grandma, they filled the backyard with flowers and my one of my best friends, Vanessa Jova, [who lives in] Mexico did all my flowers. That, for me, was the most beautiful thing in the world. I just walked out, and he was playing, "You are my sunshine, my only sunshine," and that's what I sing to the babies every day. I just started bawling. It was the most beautiful experience of my life. We all sat down, and everybody blessed the babies with what they wanted. Some were the godfather of the lights, the godmother of the Moon and they all read these beautiful scriptures.

And then you had two more?!

Yeah, but of the third one had to get canceled because of this whole COVID thing. The second one was [by the Italian family] who raised me in upstate New York [who I visit] every Christmas. I love a white Christmas, and they surprised me also with a traditional Italian baby shower. It was beautiful, and it was a Christmas baby shower. So it felt really special [and intimate]. And then the Dominican one, that is the one I'm waiting on.

It sounds like there are so many cultures that these babies are going to be born into. It's not just the Mexican and the Dominican ones, they also have Italian and American roots. How are you going to honor these when the babies arrive?

So, my Italian family showed me what Christmas is about and how to be united. My godparents, they're going to be pretty much like the grandpa and grandma of my babies, [as] I have one abuela left. In Mexico, I just feel like I'm going to teach them the meaning of life. [I've learned so much form nature], living in nature, living in what God has given us to eat. I want them to enjoy doing things [like going outside] instead of just being stuck in a 3D, metaverse kind of world. In my Dominican family, they have all these traditions that I want the babies to learn—it's going to be a family affair.

It sounds like you have a very good tribe. Like you, they will be surrounded by community.

I wanted my kids to have something that I didn't have. I had all the love in the world, don't get me wrong, I was raised by five incredible women. I just didn't have a father figure, which is kind of tough for a little girl because you're always looking for that love. I wanted to have the babies after I got married, and then having Fernando there as a father figure is the most important thing for me.

I feel like I'm on the right path and everything I dreamed of [is happening]: having someone love me unconditionally, me love him unconditionally and showing our babies what real love is.