Entertainment
10 Facts About Pregnant Kat Von D
Kat Von D has been a controversial celebrity for over a decade now. Starting off as a tattoo artist on her own shows, she has diversified into makeup, books, music, and clothes, to mention a few. Her relationships have been high profile and until recently it seemed that 36-year-old Kat, was to be unlucky in love. However, she met and married Prayers singer, Rafael Reyes (also known as Leafar Sayes) and they became engaged and married in February 2018, celebrating with friends in a lavish ceremony in June. They announced on social media that a baby was on the way and Kat has drawn much comment from her decisions around her plans for the baby.
10. She won’t give her baby any vaccinations
LA Ink star, Kat Von D is expecting her first baby and has expressed some fairly strong views about how she is going to be bringing up her child. She has already made it quite clear that she and her husband Leafar Sayes do not plan to give their baby boy any vaccinations. She said they were quite prepared for the advice they were going to get, disagreeing with their unconventional ideas.
She has decided to do her own research and take her own decisions on what she believes are the right way to go with parenting. The decision to raise her child without giving it vaccinations, goes against the advice of the American Academy of Pediatrics, which recommends vaccinating a child for several diseases including Hepatitis B, rotarvirus, diphtheria and tetanus, among others, according to People.
There are also booster vaccinations offered after the initial vaccination, which Kat and her husband will also eschew. Kat and her husband have many fans of their strong opinions and decisions to forge their own paths. However, even supporters posted on social media criticism of the vaccination decisions. They claimed that her decisions were selfish and uninformed and were putting her child and others at risk.
9. She wants a drug free water birth at home
Kat posted on social media that she has already decided to have as natural birth as possible and has decided to go for a midwife to oversee her birth, rather than a doctor. She said she was prepared for the backlash to this information, and even her father had counseled her to think again.
She said she wants the midwife and doula to be with her during the birth, which she plans to have at home, in water. It’s a lovely idea and many women want that kind of birth. However, nature has a way of intervening. We all wish for Kat to have the birth she wants, but if the baby becomes distressed or Kat needs pain relief for whatever reason, it may be that she has to eat her words. It’s one thing to plan for a midwife led home birth, and quite another to actually achieve it.
Still, most moms to be face advice from well meaning advocates of certain ways of doing things and make us feel ‘less than’ for not following what they say is the only way to go. It is refreshing to find someone in the public eye who stands up for her body and for what she wants for her child, and who are we to judge?
8. She doesn’t want any pregnancy advice
Kat has made it quite clear that she won’t listen to any pregnancy advice, that she and her husband will do their own research and make their own decisions. Kat posted on social media that she was sure she was going to get so much advice from people who don’t agree with her unconventional choices about her pregnancy and child rearing, but she doesn’t want anyone to send her contradictory advice. She will only listen to those who support what she is doing and want to send her loving messages. According to Pagesix, Kat has said that if people don’t like what she is doing, they should just unfollow her and get on with their lives as she won’t be listening.
Whilst followers admire her stand on issues such as feminism and animal welfare, some are shocked at the strong decisions she has already decided will dictate her parenting. It’s admirable to be steadfast in parenting decisions, but some ideas that moms to be have before they give birth, go out of the window once the reality sets in. It remains to be seen whether Kat and her husband stick by their views once the baby is born
7. She wants her child to be a vegan
Kat and husband, Leafer/Rafael, are confirmed vegans. They are passionate about animal welfare and do not eat or wear anything which comes from any animal product. Kat also posted on social media that they intend to bring up their unborn son as a vegan. Kat knows that her views will lead to comment, but she is used to criticism of her unconventional views and it seems that she is steadfast in her views and immovable on this issue.
She has been publicly vocal about her choice to live a vegan lifestyle and runs a cosmetic company which ensures that no products are tested on animals and no animal products are involved in the beauty products. In an article for Veganuary, Kat advocates veganism as a healthier life choice which leads to less illness and disease and that she looks and feels better than ever before, since she became vegan.
6. The eyeliner she makes stays on after a car accident!
Kat Von D is proud of her animal friendly beauty and cosmetics line. Rightly so. Her eyeliner is so effective at staying put that one customer posted a social media post saying that her Kat Von D eyeliner stayed put even through a car accident. She described how her other make-up, including her mascara, ran down her face, but her Kat Von D tattoo eyeliner, stayed put. Pictures posted on Twitter proved her story, as reported by the Standard.
Kat’s make up line is not only animal friendly but vegan too. There are no animal products in any of her cosmetics. Kat’s managed to produce the first waterline vegan eyeliner on the market. When Kat got sober and went vegan, she had no idea about the animal products that were in cosmetics. Beeswax in lip balms and carmine as a colouring were all removed from all Kat’s products. She won’t keep any products in her line that can’t be made without animal products. Kat has also launched a range of synthetic make up brushes that have the feel and effectiveness of animal hair. Kat loves her vegan make up range and is so proud that she has managed to produce pretty cosmetics that are of such high quality, according to Refinery29.
5. She was brought up by the seventh day Adventist missionary parents
Kat was born in Mexico to parents of German, Italian and Spanish descent. Kat and her sister and brother were brought up by Seventh Day Adventist parents. They moved to California when Kat was four, and Kat trained as a classical pianist from the age of six. She is a particular fan of Beethoven. However, by the age of twelve, Kat was more interested in punk rock and got her first tattoo at the age of fourteen. She then left school at sixteen and trained as a tattoo artist, according to Wikipedia. Kat cites her childhood as providing her inspiration for many of her elaborate and exquisite tattoo designs.
Kat’s grandmother influenced her love of music and Kat derives inspiration from her Los Angeles childhood and multi-cultural heritage. Kat has remained close to her parents, and turned to her father when she split from fiancé Jesse James in 2011. Kat also said that her father had made his views clear about her decision to move away from a doctor led birth.
4. She’s recorded songs and has been featured on goth band tracks
Kat is a multi-talented lady. Apart from being a well-known tattoo artist, she has compiled two books of her tattoo work and drawings and launched a makeup and perfume line. She has also recorded songs and worked as a model. In 2008 she began the Musink tattoo convention and music festival which runs in Southern California. In 2012, she added her lyrics to a song by Goth band, the 69 Eyes. She also provided lyrics for the Prayers’ song, Black Leather, which Kat inspired.
She has also provided songs for the 2018 IAMX album, Alive in New Light. She has recorded an album which she has been posting details about on social media since 2013. She worked with David Grohl and Danny Lohner. She has recorded a cover of Bronski Beat’s Small Town Boy and recorded songs for H2O’s album Use Your Voice according to New noise magazine. She inspired Eagles of Death Metal’s song High Voltage, named after her tattoo shop. The song was written for Kat by the band’s Jesse Hughes. Kat’s original look and dynamic image have also appeared in other music videos apart from that of her future husband’s band Prayers. She also has many musical inspired tattoos in deference to her favourite artists.
3. She’s been engaged four times
Kat is now happily married to Raphael Reyes, but he is by no means the first man in her life. She was married previously to a tattoo artist, Oliver Peck from 2003-2007 and has been engaged to two others. In 2011 she was engaged to Jesse James and from 2012-2013 was engaged to Deadmau5 (music producer Joel Zimmerman), Jesse was previously married to Hollywood actress Sandra Bullock. After her marriage failed, Kat had a brief relationship with Steve-O, but they split to devote more time to their respective careers. After that, she dated Roy Orbison’s son, Alex ‘Orby’ Orbison for a brief time. After that, Kat had a longer relationship with Motley Crue’s bassist, Nikki Sixx, but the two split up after two years.
It was then that Kat got involved with Jesse James, after his split from his famous wife. After that she reunited briefly with Steve-O and similarly dated, split from then redated Tom Green. She briefly dated Kevin Anderson before she got involved with her second husband, Raphael Reyes. She met her future husband when he asked her to be in one of the music videos he created with his band, Prayers. Reyes was so enthralled with Ms Von D that he wrote a song about her called Black Leather.
2. She has views that are way off the majority view and plans to keep it that way
Kat has never been one to follow the mainstream herd. Having left school at 16 to be a tattoo artist, she was never going to be a 9-5 conventional worker. She went on to appear on Miami Ink and LA Ink on TLC, and has gained a Guinness World Record for the most tattoos performed within 24 hours, totalling 400. Her appearance has always been unconventional, from her Goth makeup and clothes to her life story tattoos.
Kat gave up drinking in 2007 after it threatened to affect her career, and she also became a devoted vegan. Her campaigning for animal rights has led her to receive the Compassion in Action Award in 2016. Kat knows she is a controversial figure. She is not afraid to stand up for her views and although she knows they will be challenged, she is steadfast in her views, especially regarding her veganism. She accepts that this has led people to think she is ridiculous, but she maintains her stance. In 2016 she announced that her entire make up and beauty range would be vegan and is planning a vegan shoe range to add to her clothing line. She and her husband plan to raise their child as a vegan as well and in keeping with her vegan views, she will not vaccinate the baby.
Her views on pregnancy and birth have raised comment, but Kat said that she and her husband were well prepared for that and that they would maintain their stance on sticking to their personal views on pregnancy, birth and child rearing, despite what the majority thinks.
1. She married her husband after being engaged for one week
It was a surprise to many of Kat’s fans when she announced her engagement and marriage to Prayer’s star, Rafael Reyes after only one week. They married in February 2018 and celebrated their marriage three months later with a lavish ceremony and party. The wedding was very red. Kat’s dress was red as was her long lacy veil. They stood amid red lights and red clad dancers surrounded them. Kat even serenaded her new husband at a red baby grand piano. The red of the bride and the décor contrasted starkly with the guests who had been requested to wear all black to match the groom. There was literally red everywhere in the Beverley hills Hotel where they hosted the party. Flowers, chairs, decorations, you name it was crimson, burgundy, and every other shade of red.
Of course, the vegan cake was also red. Shaped like a castle, it also incorporated a small screen showing images of the happy couple. Kat designed a special black and sparkly lipstick for the day and gave one to each guest as a favour, according to Brides. Obviously, the whole meal was vegan and instead of wedding gifts, Kat and Rafael asked that guests contribute to the charity, Animal Equality.