AND BABY MAKES THREE
■ Rikaart met hubby Robert Sudduth in July of 2005, and they tied the knot a decade later. “We didn’t really connect or go on a date until September,” Rikaart explains. “I was interested in him when we first met, but I think I was there with somebody else and he was there with somebody else. I had to wait until it was free and clear to make a move! We went out in September of 2005.” They got married in 2015, but having a child was already on their radar. “It takes a long time,” he says. “It was over two years from when we first sort of signed a contract [with a surrogacy agency] until Monte was born. We had this really wonderful surrogate named Marcela, who is just outside of Sacramento.” Becoming a father was worth the wait. “Without sounding like an emotional cliché, it really just sort of puts everything in perspective, and it’s the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done,” Rikaart says. “He is just exceptional and made me discover a depth and a capacity of love that I don’t think I knew existed. I had a bad dream about him last night, I don’t remember the specifics, but I remember it woke me up at like 4 o’clock and I couldn’t fall back asleep. As soon as I woke up, I knew it was just a dream. I dreamt that I lost him in a mall. But you feel everything. Everything’s on overdrive; all the good stuff you feel at a 10, and any bad stuff you also feel at a 10.” As for family expansion, Rikaart says, “Yeah, I think that’s in the cards. We’re not pregnant or anything but it’s something we’ve talked about.”