Gender reveal parties have become a common tradition in the U.S., with many expectant parents sharing their big moments online. But like a lot of things in life, not everything goes as planned, and sometimes disappointment shows up. That’s exactly what happened to one Chicago woman, Ducci Lou Carter, who found out she was having a boy. She filmed the reveal at Illinois and later uploaded the video to her TikTok channel, @duccilou. In the clip, her expression shifts from anticipation to shock, and then to clear disappointment. She tried to keep it together, but it didn’t take long before her reaction gave her away.
Carter’s husband was standing close by. While he was clearly happy about the baby‘s gender, he quickly noticed his wife’s reaction. Seeing the look on her face, he gave her a gentle kiss and said, “It’s okay, we’re gonna have us a daughter,” before leading her away to a more private spot.
The video ended there, but the woman later spoke with People in an interview. The Chicago mom-to-be explained that she had been convinced she was having a girl. Everyone around her believed it too. With so much expectation building up, Carter started to imagine what life with a daughter would be like. That made it all the more shocking and disappointing when she found out she was actually having a boy during the gender reveal party.
The Chicago woman said her husband was very supportive throughout the experience. He reassured her that she didn’t need to feel guilty about being disappointed and told her it was okay to take some time to adjust to the idea of having a son. Carter shared that one of the reasons she had wanted a girl so badly was because she knew her husband would make a wonderful father to her daughter.
Carter said she was hesitant to share the video at first because she worried about public judgment. However, the Chicago woman decided to upload it anyway to show that women can have preferences too. She explained that it’s common to see fathers express disappointment over not having a son or daughter, but mothers are often expected to be happy no matter what.
Carter’s TikTok video has racked up over ten million views and more than eight hundred thousand likes. With that level of attention, thousands of people weighed in with their opinions. Some were understanding, while others were more judgmental. “Gender disappointment is a real thing, but babies are innocent, and people saying one gender is better than the other is crazy work 😭,” one user commented.
