Sad Details About Hallmark's Alexa PenaVega

This article discusses eating disorders.

Alexa PenaVega is a positive person who always chooses to look on the bright side. That outlook on life has helped her through some of the most difficult times. Her faith in God, in particular, has guided her through traumatic experiences. From enduring the stillbirth of one daughter to coping with the premature birth and NICU stay of another and overcoming an eating disorder, the Hallmark star has gone through quite a lot.

The "Spy Kids" alum found comfort in knowing she could always count on her faith — and her family. Alexa's marriage to Carlos PenaVega has also been a source of strength through her ups and downs. But it hasn't always been perfect. At one point, Alexa and Carlos nearly called it quits. "There was a time in our marriage where if we were not married, we would have broken up," she told Us Weekly in 2023. But once again, her values and faith helped her see the big picture.

Instead of giving up, Alexa worked to address the root cause of their issues. "Life gets tough. It's really, really hard," she said. "But taking that moment to just sit down and really kind of communicate. I know that sounds so cliche, but it's true." They relied on their beliefs to work through their issues and come out stronger. "Prayer has been a huge thing [for us]," she said. After a decade of marriage and three children, they're still going strong — even if life continues to test their faith. 

In November 2023, Alexa PenaVega delighted her Instagram fans when she announced she and Carlos PenaVega were expecting their fourth child. Unable to contain her excitement, Alexa started a vlog to make her followers a part of her pregnancy. But the pregnancy proved complicated early on. On her second Instagram vlog in late January 2024, she revealed she had recently experienced heavy bleeding that turned out to be a tear of her placenta from the uterus, known as partial placental abruption.

In March 2024, already in her third trimester, Alexa had to be hospitalized for the same complication but was released after several days. When she went into labor the following month, Alexa delivered a stillborn daughter, whom she and Carlos named Indy. "It has been a painful journey," she shared in an April 15, 2024, Instagram post. "But in the pain we have found peace. God continues to comfort and hold us in his arms." 

However, many of her fans flocked to the comments section of her previous posts to question why doctors failed to act given her medical history. "As someone that suffered a full term stillbirth (39w3d) it's irritating to hear that you had a partial placenta abruption & they didn't prepare to induce you ASAP," one user commented under the post about her hospitalization. Others echoed her concerns. "Those drs should have delivered right then and there. I am so sorry they failed you and your daughter," another user wrote.

Alexa PenaVega developed an eating disorder in the mid-aughts that took her years to recover from. She was 16 when she began suffering from bulimia, which consisted of episodes of binge eating followed by purging, she said in a Facebook video [3m30]. It started as a result of work pressure from producers who had issues with some weight she had put on. And her bulimia was well-accepted in her close circle. "It sounds crazy to be a 16-year-old and for people around you to be encouraging that behavior," she said.

Even when PenaVega started to see the damage, she couldn't stop. "There were so many moments where I didn't really want it, but I was getting so much praise for how good I looked," she explained. The years of purging took a big toll on her health. She damaged her teeth and altered her metabolism in ways she wouldn't know for years to come. When she first attempted to combat the bulimia, her body started rejecting food.

In her 2022 memoir, "What If Love Is the Point?," PenaVega described the consequences of five years of purged meals. "When I did make an effort to eat again, my body wasn't able to handle food," she read in an excerpt shared on Instagram. "So two months after I stopped binging and purging, I ended up being hospitalized for ulcers, bloating, and other digestive complications." Ultimately, PenaVegas faith helped her stay true to her commitment to healing.

If you are struggling with an eating disorder, or know someone who is, help is available. Visit the National Eating Disorders Association website or contact NEDA's Live Helpline at 1-800-931-2237. You can also receive 24/7 Crisis Support via text (send NEDA to 741-741).

Alexa PenaVega is the proud mama of three children, but the journey wasn't as smooth as she and Carlos PenaVega had anticipated. "I thought for sure it'd be like, 'One, two, three, wham, bam, we're pregnant!" he said on their YouTube channel in 2016. "But no, no, that's not the case. You got to keep trying and trying and trying and trying some more." As women who struggle to conceive often do, Alexa wondered if she was at fault. "When it doesn't happen, you think, 'Is something wrong with me?'" she said.

Alexa even began to blame her past issues with bulimia for her struggles. "I was worried that I wasn't getting pregnant because of some long-term damage from what I'd put my body through," she told Fit Pregnancy and Baby in 2016 (via People). She underwent tests to assess her chances of pregnancy, but not even positive news soothed her worries. "Even though my doctor said I was healthy, I felt so guilty about it," she said.

After six months of trying, Alexa's anxiety started to get the best of her. "It's such an emotional ride, and you blame yourself for everything," she said. But, as she often does in difficult situations, she turned to her faith. "What brought me peace was my faith in knowing that it would happen when it was supposed to happen," she added. With the help of ovulation kids, she successfully conceived Ocean, who was born in December 2016.

Alexa PenaVega's third pregnancy was also marked by complications. In an Instagram video during her fourth pregnancy, Alexa revealed she had also suffered a partial placental abruption when pregnant with her daughter Rio, albeit smaller. She experienced heavy bleeding halfway through the pregnancy and even thought she had lost the baby, she said in another Instagram video. Thankfully, Rio was fine. But it wasn't an easy ride up until the very end.

When Alexa was 33 weeks pregnant, almost two months before her due date, her amniotic sac began to leak accompanied by light bleeding, she said on "The Ellen Fisher Podcast" in August 2021. She was living in Maui, a city that lacked a NICU. Because of that, Alexa had to be flown to Oahu to deliver on no notice. She had nothing but her phone on her and had to be at the hospital for three days alone. Carlos PenaVega stayed behind with their two boys, arriving 30 minutes before Rio was born in May 2021.

They announced the birth on Instagram, sharing that Rio was at the NICU but doing well. "Momma is feeling good and baby girl is kicking some serious booty in the NICU," she wrote. After the eventful birth, the PenaVegas received good news. While they were initially told Rio was expected to be in the NICU for six weeks, their daughter was released after a week. "Rio was an awesome fighter," she told Fisher.

In October 2021, Alexa PenaVega's 2-year-old son suffered a traumatic accident that cost him his fingertip. To make matters worse, PevaVega was the one who caused the incident. "While getting the kids ready for bed, I shut Kingston's fingers in the hinge of the bathroom door," she revealed in an Instagram Story (via Page Six). The impact hurt a couple of fingers, but, while the first suffered just a bruise and minor cut, the middle finger was severed near the first knuckle.

It was as distressing for them as it sounds. "It was the most traumatic thing we've had to go through as a family," she continued. The doctors were unable to reattach Kingston's fingertip, but he made a full recovery nonetheless, she shared in the next slide of the Story. "The other nine are so cute! He'll be more than fine," she wrote. Just a few hours later, he was already doing flips, she said. PenaVega thought she had put the incident behind her, but social media wouldn't allow it.

Soon enough, netizens were arguing PenaVega must have slammed the door in a fit of rage to cause such serious injuries. "I simply closed the door," she said on Instagram. Her fans also jumped to her defense, with many sharing their own experiences. "My dad accidentally shut the sliding, side door of our van on my fingers when I was 6. Sadly, these things happen," one wrote.