JR Martinez has welcomed a baby girl into the world, named Lauryn Annabelle. The Iraq war veteran, who won the last season of Dancing With The Stars was proud to announce the arrival of his first child, with his partner Diana Gonzalez-Jones. Lauryn Annabelle was 21 inches long and weighed seven pounds, 13 ounces.
Martinez explained the story behind the name to People magazine, saying "Her first name, Lauryn, is after Diana's younger sister who passed away unexpectedly earlier this year and her middle name, Anabelle, is after my sister who passed away when she was 6." JR and Diana chose to give their daughter unique spellings of their sisters names, so that she would maintain her own identity. They've already settled on Belle for a nickname for the little one who apparently already has "a full head of hair." They decided some time ago that they definitely weren't going for a trendy name "like Apple Cider or Salami."
When JR performed on the previous season of Dancing With the Stars, he - like Maria Menounos in the current season - was the first contestant to score a perfect 30 out of 30. Martinez works as a motivational speaker, after returning home from the Iraq war with severe burns. He had been caught up in an explosion in 2003, when an IED exploded close by to him. He met Diana in 2008 on the set of 'All My Children' where she was a producer's assistant, according to the Los Angeles Times.