ABC's The Bachelorette has spawned its first sequel.  The Bachelorette couple Trista and Ryan Sutter have announced the birth of their first child -- Maxwell Alston Sutter.

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Maxwell, who arrived several weeks early, was born Thursday night at a medical center near the couple's Vail, CO home, according to Us Weekly.  He weighed 5 pounds, 3 ounces and measured 18 inches long.

"He's perfect and beautiful, and everyone's doing great," Trista told Us.

Trista and Ryan had intentionally avoided learning of Maxwell's sex prior to his birth.

"We want to be surprised," Trista told OK! Weekly last month. "We've talked about names but we haven't settled on anything yet. I really would like to meet the baby first."

Trista, a 34-year-old purse designer, and Ryan, a 32-year-old Colorado fireman, met while taping the first season of ABC's The Bachelorette in 2002.  More than 30 million people watched as Trista chose Ryan as her man during ABC's February 2003 broadcast of The Bachelorette's first season finale. 

Ten months later, ABC aired a three episode series that detailed the events leading up to their December 2003 wedding ceremony.  Over 17 million viewers watched Trista and Ryan exchange vows on ABC's Trista & Ryan's Wedding finale broadcast. 

The couple had announced they were expecting their first child in February.  "It took us a long time to get pregnant so it makes it that much sweeter," Trista had told Us before Maxwell's arrival.

Trista, who originally finished as the runner-up on the first season of ABC's The Bachelor, also appeared on the network's first season of Dancing with the Stars. About The Author: Steven Rogers
Steven Rogers is a senior entertainment reporter for Reality TV World and been covering the reality TV genre for two decades.