The couple, who tied the knot before ever having met each other on season 16 of Married at First Sight, have welcomed their first babies together -- twins! A rep for Chris and Nicole confirms that twins Sofia Lily and Anthony Ramsay were born on Monday, Jan. 5.
While their daughter Sofia has already come home, the two tell PEOPLE that their son Anthony experienced a few complications after birth.
"Our daughter Sofia is perfectly healthy and at home with us, but our son, Anthony, will be spending the next 3+ months in the NICU," they say. "Anthony was diagnosed with a congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) when [Nicole] was around 17 weeks pregnant."
"Never having heard of CHD, we were distraught when we found out our son had a hole in his diaphragm and the majority of his organs were in his chest, compressing his lungs," they continue.
"Our prenatal care was immediately transferred to Vanderbilt Children's Hospital where we met with pediatric surgeons and neonatologists [and found] out that our son would need breathing assistance within minutes after birth and surgery shortly after to fix his hernia."
"CDH happens in about 1 in 2,500 babies or 0.4% of the time, and even less often in twins, so we are still in disbelief that this happened to our son."
A few days after he was born, Anthony had surgery, and luckily, it was a success. Chris and Nicole say his hernia was rated a D, which is the most severe rating of CDH, and he was missing about 90% of his diaphragm.
"He still has a long road to recovery in front of him, but having a successful surgery was the first major step," they say. "The cause of CDH is often unknown, and we are going to spend the rest of our lives trying to raise awareness for it to hopefully help even one family going through the same thing."
"We've only been able to get through this so far due to the overwhelming support of people out there, especially those who have also had a child with CDH, and we will do anything we can to pay that forward."
The two have been visiting Anthony in the NICU every day, watching him grow and get healthier. Nicole shares that her pregnancy was one of the most challenging things she's experienced, but she's so grateful to get to meet both her babies.
"Pregnancy, especially with one sick baby, was the biggest and hardest thing I've ever done in my life," she says. "I questioned every day why our son was sick and how we would handle it when the time came. The day our twins were born was the most magical day of my entire life, and I wouldn't trade it for the world."
"I wish more than anything that I had both babies home with me and Chris but I know our son is in incredible hands and our daughter is giving enough cuddles and sass for both of them right now," continues Nicole.
"Chris is the most amazing partner and father and is truly the rock of our family throughout all of this. His unwavering love and support have gotten me through more emotional breakdowns than I can count. I am thankful every day for our new family and will be the most fulfilled once everyone is home together in a few months."
Chris says watching Nicole step into this new role as a mom has been one of the most amazing things.
"You think you know what love is and then you have kids and experience this whole different kind of deep love that you didn't think ever existed," he says. "It's an amazing feeling, and Nicole is already an amazing mother, and I am so proud of her and all she has already done for our family."
"I am truly amazed by her every day and admire her strength throughout the pregnancy and now into motherhood! Me and the kids are so incredibly lucky to have her! I love her so much."