Barnes, who appeared on season 1 of the Netflix hit, tied the knot with his wife in 2022

Kenny Barnes’ family is growing!

Kenny, who appeared on season 1 of Netflix’s Love Is Blind, is expecting his first baby with his wife, Alexandra Barnes, a rep for the couple confirms exclusively to people. The pair, who tied the knot in April 2022, tells PEOPLE that the happy news had been a long time coming.

“The moment we found out Alex was pregnant, it was a full rush of emotions from disbelief to overwhelming joy,” Kenny says. “Funny enough, Alex was about to go to a concert with our neighbor, and I was in the shower.”

“She decided to take a test five minutes before leaving the house before she went out to have a fun time,” he continues. “And we laugh about it to this day because as she is reading off the instructions and test results to me, the only thing I could say was ‘WOAH!'”

“We had been trying for a while so we were both used to the monthly tests at this point and it became a normal routine for us,” he admits. “Like so many others, we weren’t sure what the future had in store — our hearts go out to anyone trying to conceive, it is not an easy journey. We have been so blessed and prayed for this sweet baby for a long time.”

Alex shares with people that she was also shocked to discover that she is pregnant.

“Before I went out with a neighbor friend for the night, I realized it was the same time of the month that we typically tested so I figured, ‘Why not?’ ” she says. “‘I have five minutes, I’ll say a prayer and take a quick test.’ Meanwhile, my poor friend was ringing our doorbell as Kenny and I had our jaws on the floor upstairs.”

“The test showed a faint line so we were pretty confident I was pregnant but ran to CVS the next day to get another one. Confirmed — the second test read very clearly PREGNANT!”

Although they share that they’re starting preparations to get their house ready for their baby, the couple is choosing not to learn some specific details before becoming parents.

“Both of us are quite the planners, but to everyone’s surprise, we are not going to find out the gender before our baby’s arrival,” they share. “We are so excited for the biggest surprise of our lives and have so much to look forward to.”

“We tossed around a ton of names, of course, but will go into the hospital with a few that we love and wait until we meet our precious baby girl or boy.”

Kenny and Alex met after his appearance on the Netflix dating series, which was filmed in the fall of 2018. In August 2020, Kenny popped the question at Duke Mansion in Charlotte, North Carolina, after dating a little over one year, he revealed exclusively to people.