YouTuber Jesse Ridgway defends decision to terminate wife’s pregnancy after Down syndrome diagnosis

YouTuber Jesse Ridgway is defending his and wife Ashley’s decision to terminate her pregnancy after discovering that their unborn child would likely have Down syndrome.

“When it comes to being a first-time parent, or just trying to start a family in general, you don’t know until you’re thrust into this situation. You’re always just trying to make the best decision you can to benefit your child and your own life,” the content creator exclusively told Page Six on Friday.

Jesse (known as McJuggerNuggets online) explained that he initially became “comfortable” with the idea that their child would have the condition, which occurs when an individual has a full or partial extra copy of chromosome 21.

“I was OK with it. I can love a kid no matter what, and we’ll make it work,” he recalled thinking.

However, the more research the couple did, the more they realized the challenges they might face.

“The second I started to get confronted with stat after stat after stat, and when I realized that more than likely I will have to bury my son, that is not what I wanted to sign up for,” Jesse explained.

“I want my kids to outlive me and to be fully functional and be able to live a good life.”

Jesse noted that many people with Down syndrome need 24/7 care and often battle health issues like heart defects and other disorders that bring them “in and out of surgeries.”

“It starts to get really damning, and it just didn’t make sense for us,” he continued. “I hope people can empathize with that.”

According to Jesse, one of the toughest parts was coming to terms with the fact that he and Ashley had already been preparing for their baby’s arrival.

“We were imagining for months what our lives would be,” he said. “You get the nursery ready. Ashley was already buying clothes, and we’re thinking of what could be.”

After sharing their heartbreaking decision, the couple faced an onslaught of criticism from the public, including death threats.

“I’m used to the public scrutiny just from being in the space for so long. But I’m just trying to be as strong as possible for Ashley, because she’s the one bearing so much of the weight,” he said, adding that coming forward has “exposed a nasty side of humanity.”

Jesse explained that he and Ashley “love” and “value” life.

“I have a lot of fans with Down syndrome that I cheerlead and support, and it’s sickening that people twist and have made it into so many different things,” he said.

While Ashley was “distraught” over the loss of their child, she ultimately wanted to share her journey with the public so she could help others experiencing the same struggle.

“She wanted this to be representative of other women going through this,” Jesse explained. “And if anyone is struggling with what to do, I hope they feel comfortable at least talking about it more after seeing our story.”

“It’s a very nuanced conversation,” he added.

As for how he and Ashley are coping, Jesse said it has been “a hard two weeks.”

“We’ll have a mini breakdown, it honestly might be hourly at this point,” he said. “We’re just trying to process that this happened.”

Jesse, who has been vlogging for two decades, shared that he and Ashley made the “difficult” decision to terminate the pregnancy after finding out that their baby might be born with Trisomy 21, also called Down syndrome.

“The choice was not made lightly,” he said at the time. “We are devastated. This has been extremely traumatic for both of us, especially Ashley.”

They had documented their pregnancy journey with their social media followers, sharing that they were expecting a child in March. The next month, they announced their baby had a 95% chance of being born with Down syndrome.

Jesse and Ashley, who got married in October 2025, are still planning to have children someday.

“In as soon as potentially a month, a month and a half, we can start trying again,” he told us Friday. “We’re excited for that.”