Toppenish Student Gets National Attention for Faking Pregnancy
Gaby Rodriguez fakes pregnancy for senior school project
A Toppenish High School senior is getting national attention today, after she fakes being pregnant to conduct a social experiment on the impact of gossip, stereotypes, and rumors. Now she tells us how she was able to keep her experiment a secret for months, and what she and her school community have learned from it.
For several months this is how Toppenish High School senior Gaby Rodriguez appeared to her fellow students and family members, but it was all a big lie.
"I just started wearing baggier blothes and sweaters so that it could appear that you know I was starting to gain weight," says Rodriguez.
Gaby faked being pregnant as part of an experiment on gossip. She wanted to find out what people would say to your face, and behind your back.
"Since I was an underclassman I heard you know oh so and so is pregnant, and they'd talk about them," she says.
First she had to get approval from the school.
"I was very concerned, I don't think as much as she should have been, she should have been more concerned, but she was determined," says principal Trevor Greene.
Select friends and family members were in on her secret, but they found it hard to keep quiet.
"Almost blew it, well, she's not, you know, and I would catch myself," says Gaby's mother Juana Rodriguez.
Gaby's boyfriend says his family''s reaction made it hard to keep everything a secret.
"They would always try putting us down, and at times I was getting tired of I really just wanted to crack," says Jorge Orozco.
Gaby started wearing a baby bump to show when she was four months pregnant, one made of clay and a deflated basketball. She had to switch to a bigger one when she reached the six month level.
And then yesterday, she finally let the entire school in on the shocking truth during an assembly, she wasn't pregnant.
"When I took out the belly, the audience was definitely in shock, it got really quiet," says Rodriguez.
Many students cried. Gaby says one of her teachers told her he felt betrayed because of the deception. But both Gaby and her principal say the overall goal was accomplished, and both learned important lessons about gossip, and teen pregnancy.
"There were a lot of people that supported me, and those that did not, rethink the way that you're approaching people," says Greene.
"If you don't have your life in order, there's no purpose to bring another, start another life," says Rodriguez.
Gaby Rodriguez and her boyfriend both plan to finish college before they think of marriage and starting a family.