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The Logie Award-nominated Australian actress, who recently announced her pregnancy with former Packed to the Rafters co-star and fiancé James Stewart, said that finding out that she is expecting a child came as a big shock to her as she was just planning to launch her US career.
Marais told The Daily Telegraph: "When we found out, that was an issue. But I found that just about every other actress who has had a child and works tells you it can be done and that there is never the perfect time. So we are embracing what we have and looking towards the future with bright eyes."
Marais and Stewart are planning to stay in Australia until their child is born, with plans to return to the US next year.
She said: "I think I will always be based in Australia [but] if I could make enough money to have a house in (the US) one day that would be the ultimate... so we can go between the two. But our families are here and we are family orientated, so I think Australia will always be home."
When asked about their plans to get married, Marais added: "The wedding. If it happens, it happens. We love each other and we don't feel we have to be married to have a child."
The couple's co-star Ryan Corr recently said that he thinks that they will make "stunning" parents because they are "two of the most wonderful people" he has ever met.
Watch The Daily Telegraph's interview with Jessica Marais below:
