Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan announced they’re welcoming a future Facebook user into the world.
In a candid note posted on his page, the Facebook CEO said they’re expecting a baby girl as they begin “a new chapter in our lives.” Since he owns a platform where being personal is encouraged, Zuckerberg revealed the pair had three miscarriages before learning of this happy news.
“Most people don’t discuss miscarriages because you worry your problems will distance you or reflect upon you — as if you’re defective or did something to cause this. So you struggle on your own,” he wrote. But in today’s interconnected world, discussing these personal issues “creates understanding and tolerance, and it gives us hope.”
He added: “We hope that sharing our experience will give more people the same hope we felt and will help more people feel comfortable sharing their stories as well.”
So far, it appears to be working. The announcement was greeted with an overwhelming amount of support including 300,000 likes within the first hour. More than 20,000 comments poured in congratulating them and thanking him for being so candid.
“Mark and Priscilla, you are, together, of the greatest leaders of our time,” wrote Path creator Dave Morin. Tech blogger Robert Scoble chimed in, writing “kids are so fun and occasionally infuriating but they teach you new things every day.”
The news also trended on Twitter, with his name racking up 3,000 tweets mostly congratulating him with a few jokes thrown in there.
Mark Zuckerberg is having a baby. Which means Facebook terms of service agreement will now require you to look at photos of his baby.
— Andy McDonald (@iamandymcdonald) July 31, 2015
I just realized Mark Zuckerberg is having America’s Royal Baby. — Dell Cameron (@dellcam) July 31, 2015
How many moths old do you think Mark Zuckerberg’s baby girl will be when they open her a FB account? pic.twitter.com/58BhY7uMfs
— Samuel Burke (@samuelcnn) July 31, 2015
How will Mark Zuckerberg juggle parenting and running a company at the same time????? — Cooper Fleishman (@_Cooper) July 31, 2015
In the picture the pair posted, their four-year-old mop dog threatened to overshadow the news. Until now, Beast, a Puli (Hungarian sheepdog), has maintained his status as being the most famous Zuckerspawn with more than 2 million fans on Facebook.
Mark Zuckerberg’s dog makes me want to have a dog as a pet really bad. https://t.co/zosfebLuNJ
— Agam Dhingra (@agamdhingra) July 31, 2015
I didn’t realize that Mark Zuckerberg adopted the dog from the Odelay album cover — Bob Falconi (@RobertMFalconi) July 31, 2015
GAZE UPON BARK ZUCKERDOG pic.twitter.com/xtE666VHXj
— Charlie Warzel (@cwarzel) July 31, 2015
Let’s just hope Zuckerberg names his kid something better than Poke.
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