Clever Gigi Hadid fans pieced together her pregnancy news before the media did. Here's how they figured it out.

• Supermodel Gigi Hadid, 25, and pop star Zayn Malik, 27, are expecting their first child together. The pair are currently staying at Yolanda Hadid's Pennsylvania country home, along with Gigi's sister, Bella.
• On Tuesday, TMZ was the first to report on the rumors after enterprising internet sleuths found clues in photos from Hadid's 25th birthday celebration.
• Gigi's mother, Yolanda Hadid, subsequently confirmed the news.
• Gigi is said to be about 20 weeks along, with a projected due date in September.
• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik have always been notoriously tight-lipped about their relationship. But it's hard to hide anything from eagle-eyed One Direction fans for very long. Earlier this week, Hadid's sister, Bella, shared snapshots from Gigi's 25th birthday to her Instagram story. To the untrained eye, the photos were relatively unremarkable, although they did provide a closer look at Gigi's instantly iconic bagel-shaped birthday cake.

But rumors of a possible Hadid-Malik pregnancy began to swirl on Tuesday, as fans discovered small but telling clues in the images. TMZ reported on the possible pregnancy soon after, and the news has since been confirmed by Gigi's mother, Yolanda Hadid.

"Still shocked our little secret got leaked to the press," Yolanda told Dutch news outlet RTL Boulevard. "Of course we are so excited. I'm excited to become Oma [granny] in September especially after I lost my mom so recently. But this is the beauty of life, one soul leaves us and a new one comes in. We feel very blessed."

Had the sweetest day celebrating my 25th birthday with my quarantine family, who made it so special for me, along with all the love I felt from all over the world! Thank you to everyone for the birthday messages, I carried you with me yesterday!! I am grateful and lucky that my family and friends -near and far- are healthy and safe, and although I missed loved ones I wish I could have celebrated with, know that these times will make us even more grateful for togetherness to be had in the future ! I will never forget my 25th bday! +++The icing on the perfect quarantine bday was finding out my surprise everything-bagel-cake was made by the one and only Cake Boss @buddyvalastro who I have watched for over a decade. I CRIED REAL TEARS! BUDDY! This is a dream come true. I can’t believe you made this cake for me while the bakery is closed. It means more to me than you know, and when we hopefully meet some day you will truly know that there almost isn’t an episode I’ve missed. 10/10 would be a Carlo’s intern whenever needed. Grateful, honored, your biggest fan.

A post shared by Gigi Hadid (@gigihadid) on Apr 24, 2020 at 6:56pm PDTApr 24, 2020 at 6:56pm PDT

For fans, the big tip-off came in the form of an oddly placed sunflower emoji, which was used by Bella to mask the side of a pink gift bag. The gift bag's origins were then traced back to Target, where its ecommerce product page revealed what Bella had been trying to cover up: A line of copy that read "Hello Little One."

—فدوى (@MalikMyWings) April 29, 2020

Upon closer inspection of another image, fans realized Bella had been carrying a blue "Baby Shark" gift bag for Gigi, too. This led many to wonder whether Gigi's birthday had been doing double duty as a gender reveal party for the rest of the family.

A third clue came from the oversized birthday balloons Gigi, Bella, and Zayn posed with during the celebration. The "2" balloon, fans noted, was attached to a blue ribbon, while the "5" balloon was tied off with a pink ribbon.

In a particularly tender snapshot from the day, Gigi and Zayn can be seen embracing, while Gigi holds the blue ribboned balloon above their heads.

—steph ♡ (@Steph15SOS) April 29, 2020

As speculation solidified into certainty, fans found yet another hint — this time, on the Instagram feed of Gigi and Bella's OBGYN, Dr. Sherry Ross. The sisters visited Ross's office on February 6, and the doctor followed Malik the following day.

—فدوى (@MalikMyWings) April 29, 2020

Still, Gigi and Malik have yet to make an announcement of their own. And as several have observed online, it's unfortunate that the happy couple was denied the opportunity to share the update at their own pace, when the time felt right.

—Lauren Dudley (@Lauren9Dudley) April 30, 2020

Chrissy Teigen, for example, took to Twitter to congratulate Gigi before anything concrete was known.

—chrissy teigen (@chrissyteigen) April 28, 2020

Hadid and Malik have been dating since 2015. The pair allegedly rekindled their romance in December, following a temporary split in March 2018. According to Entertainment Tonight, when Hadid and Malik reunited at the end of last year, "it was like they never skipped a beat and knew what they had was special."

In a February interview with i-D magazine, Gigi spoke openly of her desire to start a family and, someday, leave her career in modeling behind.

"I think that as I get older... well one day I'll start a family and I don't know if I will always be modeling," she told the magazine. "I love the creative side of fashion, it's so fulfilling. The people I work with make me so happy, I'm so lucky to be around them. But who knows? Maybe I'll take up full-time cooking!"

• Read more:

• Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik are reportedly expecting their 1st child together

• Everything you need to know about Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik's journey to millennial power couple — and their shocking split

• Fashion magazines are doing FaceTime photoshoots with models like Bella Hadid during quarantine

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