Matt and Abby Howard Open Up Pregnancy Loss in First Podcast Since Announcement

On this week’s episode of their Unplanned Podcast, Matt and Abby Howard are opening up about the devastating loss of their third baby.

At the very beginning of the podcast, Matt addressed fans in a voiceover, thanking them for reaching out to the couple during their “very challenging time.”

Going on, Matt revealed that the couple’s baby had been at 17 weeks gestation during the time of the loss, old enough, Matt said, “to hear Abby’s voice.”

“She had little hands, little fingers, little toes,” Matt said. “We’re still processing that.”

The episode, which features guest influencer Shay Martin, whose husband Tanner recently died of colon cancer after they welcomed their first baby together, was prerecorded, Matt went on to share.

He reiterated his thanks to his fans, saying, “Thank you so much for your thoughts and your prayers at this time.”

Their loss came just over a month after the Arizona-based content creators told PEOPLE they were expecting another child. The Howards — who are parents to sons Griffin, 3, and August, 2 — initially announced the heartbreaking news with a joint Instagram post on Saturday, Sept. 27.

“It is with very heavy hearts that we share about the loss of our baby girl born far too soon,” they began in their lengthy, emotional caption, which accompanied a photo of the couple holding hands. Abby can be seen wearing a hospital admission wristband and a medical gown.

“At a routine pregnancy appointment, our doctor could not find a heartbeat. Shortly after they sent us in for an ultrasound where the technician said words we will never forget, ‘I am so sorry I do not have good news,'” the podcast co-hosts continued.

According to their recollection of events, Matt and Abby then learned that they were expecting a daughter, but they were also told that she “had a genetic condition that took her life around 17 weeks gestation.”

The post went on, “The news felt unimaginable. The grief is absolutely devastating. But we feel so much gratitude for the time that we did get to have with her. And we still have hope. Hope has continued to show up for us in so many ways.”

They concluded by welcoming “thoughts and prayers” as they “grieve and continue to think of ways to honor her life offline,” the influencers wrote. “Thank you everyone for celebrating this precious life with us for the past 17 weeks.”

In November 2024, the high school sweethearts told PEOPLE that privacy is their primary concern, and they sync up to curate their content accordingly. They said they don’t post any content without both signing off on the post first.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

“Privacy for our family is very important, so that’s an area that we run by each other,” Abby said last autumn. “Anything regarding our children’s health, that’s something that’s really important. And details about location, whether that’s when we’re traveling or our own home.”