Amara La Negra Exclusive: "I'm Going To Be a Single Mom...My Babies Will Depend On Me"

While she was filming Love & Hip Hop Miami (VH1) in August, Amara La Negra noticed something was off. "I felt so nauseous that I thought the food was making me sick," says the singer, 31, who didn't panic but chose to follow a hunch. "My woman's intuition told me: 'Do a pregnancy test'. I did the test, and it came back positive."

Beyond being thrilled with the news, the cohost of Nuestra Belleza Latina (Univision) felt scared. "I was nervous. The first thing I thought about was in my work and my projects, having to tell my mom: 'My life is going to change!'" recalls the singer, whose real name is Dana Danelys de los Santos. "I'm not going to lie, it took me like two days to process everything that had just happened. I started to cheer myself up because at the beginning [I felt] a lot of fear."

Packing her fears a suitcase and putting on a brave face, the Dominican American star, who was born in Miami, traveled to Dominican Republic in September to oversee her real estate investments and see a gynecologist. "I had only done a urine [home pregnancy] test. When the [nurse] does the sonogram, she says: 'Wow, there are two gestational sacs.' I was happy, surprised, but I couldn't process what she was telling me."

Her surprise was warranted as Amara suffered a miscarriage in July. "It was very weird. They suspect they were triplets. It's hard to say it now because I had a lot of bleeding, and I was in a lot of pain," she recalls. "I wasn't precisely looking [to become pregnant] at this time, but I always said: 'If God sends it to me, Amen, it's decided'.

Amara has also decided, like her mother Ana María Oleaga, to be a single mom.

"In my case, I woke up pregnant like the Virgin Mary. I woke up pregnant and that's all I remember," she says. "I will be a single mother. I know my babies will depend on me," she adds. "Father is not the one who makes the child but the one who raises it. In time, if God grants me the blessing of finding the right man, one who supports me, who accepts me with my children, then Amen, he will be well received. But I feel blessed, and I am so happy that I sometimes forget that [I'll be a single mom]. I am more focused on my babies."

Her mother, who emigrated to the United States after crossing the Mexican border and has raised Amara mostly on her own, praised her daughter's strength. "My admiration is bigger now that she has the guts to face the world with two [kids]," says a proud Oleaga. "I tell her: 'Instead of having a problematic father [in the picture], one who is going to raise them the wrong way, it's better you raise them alone. Instead of the kids being raised around problems, nervousness, trauma, it's better to raise them in peace."

Peace is what this stunning single artist exudes. She will continue to work on VH1's reality show Love & Hip Hop: Miami, Nuestra Belleza Latina, her podcast Exactly Amara (iHeart) and her talk show Don't Cancel Me, airing in December on Fuse. Amara says she has no regrets. "Not at all" she says. "You learn every time you stumble," adds the artist, who decided to honor Oshun, the goddess of love and fertility, with her looks in this exclusive photo shoot. "Even when I was in a good place with the father, I lost [a baby]. It wasn't the time. Perhaps he wasn't the right person either. But may God's will be done."

Enjoy more of this exclusive interview with the mom-to-be below!

How did you feel when you found out you were pregnant?

In July I was pregnant, but unfortunately, I lost it. And what they suspect is that they were triplets, and one was lost because the timing was too tight. I lost one and I was bleeding for three weeks and at the end of the three weeks, I was filming Love & Hip Hop Miami and I felt so nauseous that I thought the food was making me sick. Then my woman's intuition told me: 'Do a pregnancy test', even though I had just lost a pregnancy. I did the test, and it came back positive.

In July, I lost [a baby] and at the end of August, like three weeks later, I was already pregnant. It was very weird because when I went to see the doctor, he told me the gestational sac [was empty]. That's how we understood that one was lost. So they suspect they were triplets. It's hard to say it now because I had a lot of bleeding, and I was in a lot of pain.

Filming the show, I felt like getting a test, it was positive and I was really nervous. I wasn't looking for [a baby]. As an empowered woman you go after your job, your goals. I am a very ambitious and focused woman. I have a lot of projects, even now that I'm pregnant I have a lot of projects, and I wasn't precisely looking [to become pregnant] at this time, but I always said: 'If God sends it to me, Amen, it's decided'.

They say my instinct will guide me. But I'm not going to lie, it took me like two days to process everything that had just happened. If God gives me this now, it's because he thinks I'm ready, that I can do it. I started to cheer myself up because at the beginning [I felt] a lot of fear. I am four months pregnant. You can notice my belly because it's two of them.

Do you travel a lot to Dominican Republic to manage your investments?

When I go to Dominican Republic it's to oversee my real estate investments. I am always looking for investments and in one of those trips I said: 'Let me take advantage and go see a gynecologist because they're really good over there.' I had only done a urine [home pregnancy] test. When the [nurse] does the sonogram, she says: 'Wow there are two gestational sacs.' And I said: 'OMG, I'm dying'. I was happy, surprised, but I couldn't process what she was telling me. That was in September.

How did you share the news with your boyfriend?

In my case, I woke up pregnant like the Virgin Mary. I woke up pregnant and that's all I remember.

You will be a single mom then?

I will be a single mother. There is a part of me that makes me feel more focused, stronger. I know my babies will depend on me. I also understand that the father is not the one who makes the child but the one who raises it. In time, if God grants me the blessing of finding the right man, one who supports me, who accepts me with my children, then Amen, he will be well received. But I feel blessed, and I am so happy that I sometimes forget that [I'll be a single mom]. I am more focused on my babies.

So you have no regrets?

No, not at all. There is no guide that tells you how to live your life. You learn every time you stumble, from the experiences, and God had this in store for me. Even when I was in a good place with the father, I lost [a baby]. It wasn't the time. Perhaps he wasn't the right person either. But may God's will be done.

What has your pregnancy been like during these past four months? How have you felt, physically?

It's been a little weird because I'm a first-time mom and a first-time mom of two, my body has changed. I had just recently lost 60 pounds, which was something everyone talked about. After losing weight and now seeing this transformation, my hips are getting wider, my butt and breasts are getting fuller. I'm still thin, but my body is changing.

It's a bit strange to look at myself in the mirror now that they're starting to kick, now that I'm feeling them. I have a lot of nausea, heartburn, I'm very sleepy. I fall asleep everywhere; I feel very tired. But with all of that, I'm very happy. It's a process.

Tell us about your projects

I'm in Nuestra Belleza Latina and Love & Hip Hop Miami, I just taped my first talk show, Don't Cancel Me, that will air in December on Fuse —and I have my podcast Exactly Amara (iHeart), that airs every Thursday. And I get bookings in between, I'm a fighter. I plan on continuing after I have my babies. It's two cribs, two diapers, two baby bottles, two of everything. And as a single mom, it's going to be just me.

Do you live with your mom?

Yes, my whole life.

How did you share the news with your mom, Ana María Oleaga?

She was the last person I told; I respect her so much that I didn't want to let her down because she has such a great vision for me and my future with all the projects I have. When I told her I was pregnant, she said: 'Wow.' But she supported me, she was very happy for me.

What does your mom say about you being a single mom like her?

Nothing, she says to keep moving forward, that my children will cheer me on, that they will give me the will to keep fighting [for them]. She tells me to focus on my kids, to be the best mother possible, to teach my children the value of work. My mother raised me so well, that I want her to raise them [laughs].

Have you picked out names for the babies?

Not yet, I have no idea. First, I want to know the sex and then I'll pick the names. One thing is for sure, they will be magnificent names. I don't want simple names.

Have you prepped your home for the babies?

No, I haven't even started. With so much work —and finding out at two months and change that I'm pregnant— I haven't started getting ready. I don't know what to do, I don't know anything.

Why dedicate this photo session to Oshun?

I'm very proud to be Black. I'm a woman who feels very connected to my ancestors, to my race. Among the orishas, Oshun is the goddess of fertility, of love, of sweetness, of gold; I wanted to represent her. I wanted to thank her and represent the goddess of fertility. Without expecting it… she gave me the blessing of having two kids. I want to maintain my blackness and my race in the forefront.

I didn't want to make this announcement alone, without having my mom there. In one of the photos, you see me asking for my mother's blessing. She is my guide and I want her to bless my children.

—LENA HANSEN