![Arie and Lauren learned the hard way that jokes about pregnancy aren't funny. [Image via ABC]](https://staticr1.blastingcdn.com/media/photogallery/2018/4/9/660x290/b_502x220x82/arie-and-lauren-learned-the-hard-way-that-jokes-about-pregnancy-arent-funny-image-via-abc_1928297.jpg "Arie and Lauren learned the hard way that jokes about pregnancy aren't funny. [Image via ABC]")
Arie Luyendyk Jr. and his fiancee Lauren Burnham came under fire for an April Fool's Day prank gone wrong. The newly engaged "Bachelor" couple thought it would be funny to announce a pregnancy on April 1. Unfortunately, there was no pregnancy, just two reality stars who ended up being accused by fans of being "tone deaf" and "out of touch."
Days before the annual day of pranks and jokes, social media warned pranksters not to joke about being pregnant. For starters, it's not very original. More importantly, joking about being pregnant can be really hurtful to someone who is having difficulty doing so themselves.
Apparently, Arie and Lauren didn't get that memo.
How it all went down
On April Fool's Day, Arie Luyendyk Jr. and Lauren Burnham went all out for their fake pregnancy reveal. Arie took to Twitter and posted a photo of Lauren's belly that looked visibly pregnant. It's not clear if she was just pushing her belly and arching her back or if they Photoshopped the picture to make her look so far along. Either way, it looked pretty realistic with Arie adding a caption, "Secrets finally out, we have a bunny in the oven! @laurenburnham91."
Secrets finally out, we have a bunny in the oven! @laurenburnham91 pic.twitter.com/Mmx50ePDaB
— Arie Luyendyk Jr. (@ariejr) April 1, 2018
Congratulations and plenty of skepticism poured in for over an hour before Arie came clean and added an "April Fools!" to the message.
That's when "Bachelor" fans turned on the couple and began blasting Arie for posting such a cruel joke.
Even before coming clean, Arie was warned about his unfunny joke when one Twitter user wrote, "Love you guys but hopefully this isn’t a joke. A lot of people struggle with getting pregnant or loosing babies and that would be F’ed up and selfish.
Just an odd day to share it is all. Hopefully a congrats will be in order."
Another wrote, "1 in 8 women struggle infertility. I really and truly hope that if this is a joke, when you do try to conceive you aren’t met with the harsh reality that so many face."
Arie's apology
The following day, Arie Luyendyk took to Twitter again, this time with an apology.
It seems that "The Bachelor" star did some thinking about his failed April Fool's Day prank and realized it was offensive. He wrote:
I do have sympathy for women struggling from infertility. My April Fools prank was in no way meant to offend women who struggle with that. I apologize if you were effected personally by my post.
— Arie Luyendyk Jr. (@ariejr) April 2, 2018
Some were still very offended by the pregnancy joke. Others responded to the apology to let Arie know that they personally weren't offended. There were even responses to "The Bachelor" star calling out those who were upset about the April Fool's Day prank gone wrong, calling them "soft" and criticizing them for being offended.
In the future, if Arie Luyendyk Jr. and Lauren Burnham do have a real pregnancy to announce, hopefully, that announcement won't backfire on them too. Whether the joke was too insensitive or not, it's safe to say that it's been overdone and maybe next year, they can try to pull off something more original.
