Grimes says pregnancy during pandemic was 'demanding' and opens up about friend's death

New mother Grimes has opened up about going through pregnancy during a global pandemic, saying it was "very demanding" not being able to see friends and family.

The electronic artist, 32, welcomed her son this week with inventor and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who they named X Æ A-12.

pic.twitter.com/lm30U60OtO

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 5, 2020

And while the pair have made international headlines with their unusual choice of baby name, Grimes said the path to having her son was arduous and difficult. In a cover interview with Vogue Italia she said she was devastated by the death of a friend during her pregnancy, who wasn't able to be with friends or family before their death.

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ppl make fun of my big nose and weird face but I think it’s cool to be strange. Took me a while to figure out how to make makeup look good cuz regular tricks don’t work. But I’m grateful to be oddly designed

A post shared by ꧁ ༒ Gℜiꪔ⃕es ༒꧂ (@grimes) on Apr 28, 2020 at 3:11pm PDT

Grimes, whose real name is Claire Boucher, revealed a friend had sadly died during the pandemic, and she was away from friends and family when she passed away.

"It is certainly very demanding to be pregnant in the middle of a pandemic," the musician said. "It's hard not to be able to see friends and family.

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It’s weird I thought I looked soooo pregnant when @ryder_ripps took these photos like 7 ish months ago but in retrospect I look tiny lol. Everything is relative I guess. I wuz prob 2 skinny b4. This is the first time in my life I’ve eaten 3 meals a day and that has def been a positive development lol. If u aren’t doing so I’d recommend it! 🦔🦔⚔️

A post shared by ꧁ ༒ Gℜiꪔ⃕es ༒꧂ (@grimes) on Apr 29, 2020 at 1:16pm PDT

"A friend of mine recently died and it was a nightmare not being able to be close to her loved ones. It won't be easy in the hospital, I don't go into details but I feel very empathetic with those who are going through this phase," she said.

"And I trust what the maternity wards are doing to manage the situation, I have great respect for the work of the doctors."

The singer said she hoped there might be some positive outcomes from the global pandemic, including "a reduction in consumerism".

"If people fly less, it can only be good. The same goes for petrol cars and everything else," she said.