Bachelor in Paradise’s Jade Roper Marks 2 Years Since Missed Miscarriage
Bachelor in Paradise star Jade Roper is marking a somber anniversary.
“Two years since my D&C. Two years without you sweet Beau,” the reality TV star wrote via Instagram on Saturday, September 6, referring to a dilation and curettage, a procedure in which the cervix is dilated in order to remove tissue from inside the uterus. (The procedure is commonly used for abortions and to treat missed or incomplete miscarriages.)
“Grief is quieter now, but it’s still here, woven into who I am,” Roper continued. “Remembering the baby I never got to hold, yet still hold in my heart.”
Roper included several photos in the post, including a picture of her cradling her then-pregnant stomach and a snapshot of an ultrasound. Roper also shared a picture of herself in a hospital, a small, blue, heart-shaped cake with the name “Beau” written in icing, and a photo of her hands on her stomach as she appeared to be laying in bed.
In August 2023, Roper announced she was expecting her fourth child with husband Tanner Tolbert when she experienced a pregnancy loss.
“I’ve been struggling what to write here as I’ve been navigating a miscarriage,” she wrote via Instagram at the time. “It felt like all my dreams were coming true to welcome another baby into our lives, to love and to complete our family. While our hearts are completely broken and we have been dealing with the deep and complex grief of the loss, we have been blessed to be touched by his soul or his short amount of time. I am forever changed.”
She continued, I’m currently experiencing what is called a missed miscarriage, so while his heart has stopped and he has stopped growing (for some time now), my body hasn’t released the pregnancy yet. I am hoping to do this naturally and am trusting in timing and in my body under the care of my provider.”
Roper went on to write that she had been carrying the pregnancy “with so much pride and cherish every moment still left with part of him,” adding that “it has also been equally as challenging and devastating.”
Strange New Worlds Just Remade One Of Captain Picard’s Greatest Star Trek: TNG Episodes
In Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3, episode 9, "Terrarium," Lt. Ortegas heads out for a solo mission to explore a strange area of space. When a mysterious wormhole suddenly appears, Ortegas' shuttle gets pulled in and crashlands on a rocky moon orbiting a gas giant. As Erica puts her considerable survival skills to good use, she soon discovers that she's not alone.
Directed by Andrew Coutts and written by Alan B. McElroy, "Terrarium" tells a classic Star Trek story that draws inspiration from Star Trek: The Original Series and Star Trek: The Next Generation. Considering the involvement of the Gorn and the Metrons, the iconic TOS episode "Arena" may be the most obvious comparison, but "Terrarium" also has a lot in common with TNG's "Darmok."
How Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3 Episode 9 Remade A Classic Captain Picard Episode
"Terrarium" spends much of its runtime following Lt. Ortegas, putting her ingenuity and quick thinking on full display as she builds a water dispenser and sets out in search of food. Before long, Ortegas encounters the moon's only other intelligent occupant – a Gorn pilot (Warren Scherer) whose escape pod crashed. Ortegas immediately goes on the defensive, but later forms a truce with the female Gorn, as they work together to find a way off the moon.
Erica, too, struggles to understand her new Gorn friend, until she rigs up a makeshift universal translator that translates yes or no answers. Like Picard and Dathon, Ortegas and the Gorn find ways to communicate and work together to fight off the predators that inhabit their respective planets. In the end, both "Darmok" and "Terrarium" come to similar bittersweet conclusions, as well.
In "Darmok," a predator mortally wounds Dathon when the Enterprise-D crew tries to beam Picard back to the ship. Although Dathon soon succumbs to his injuries, Picard has learned enough to establish communication with the Tamarians. "Terrarium" also ends with the tragic death of the Gorn. When Lt. La'an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong) and her landing party arrive to rescue Lt. Ortegas, they kill the Gorn before Erica can stop them.
Which Is Better - Strange New Worlds’ “Terrarium” Or TNG’s “Darmok”?
"Darmok" has long been considered one of Star Trek's best episodes, making it difficult to live up to. In addition to strong performances from its stars, "Darmok" works as well as it does due to its simplicity and a message that exemplifies Star Trek's ideals.
"Terrarium" adds technobabble problems and a ticking clock to raise the stakes, but the episode didn't necessarily need all of that to deliver a solid story. Still, "Terrarium" takes some of the best elements from "Darmok" (and other classic Trek episodes) to deliver a compelling story about enemies working together that shows the Gorn in a new light.
"Terrarium" Borrows From Other Classic Star Trek Stories
In "Arena," the highly advanced Metrons strand Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and a Gorn Captain on a barren planet, where they battle it out in a physical contest. Kirk eventually emerges as the victor, but he spares the Gorn's life, impressing the observing Metrons. A Metron (Dariush Zaheh) pops up briefly in "Terrarium," too, appearing before Lt. Ortegas to inform her they orchestrated her situation with the Gorn.
The Metrons apparently needed more information about humanity after their encounter with Ortegas, as they pulled the same trick with Kirk a few years later.
Another episode with similarities to "Terrarium" is TNG season 3, episode 7, "The Enemy," in which Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) finds himself stranded on a dangerous planet with a Romulan named Bochra (John Snyder). The Romulans have long been enemies of the Federation, but when the planet's atmosphere messes with Geordi's VISOR, he must work with Bochra to get back to the Enterprise.
Like Ortegas and the Gorn in "Terrarium," Geordi and Bochra are initially wary of one another and only agree to work together when the situation becomes dire. Geordi and Bochra don't necessarily end the episode as friends, but they do develop a better understanding of one another's species. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' "Terrarium" joins these iconic episodes as another classic Star Trek story that celebrates tolerance and heartfelt open-mindedness.
