Despite denying she’s having a baby on her blog on October 3, a close friend confirms that the former Baywatch star is carrying Rick’s child. “Pam says that the pregnancy is fate and an incredible blessing,�? the insider tells In Touch. The same day a home pregnancy test came up positive on September 29, the couple applied for a marriage license.

According to an insider, Pamela was reluctant to tell anyone about the baby, due to a reported miscarriage last year with ex-husband Kid Rock (he has since accused her of falsifying the pregnancy and miscarriage).

“Pam had begged Rick to keep the news secret until she had reached three months, but he broke his promise,�? the insider says. Pamela almost called off the wedding at the Mirage Hotel and Casino, but ultimately changed her mind because, friends say, at 40, she wants to expand her family before it’s too late.

Pamela’s not the only one who’s had misgivings about Rick. Her first husband, Tommy Lee, with whom she has two sons, Brandon, 11, and Dylan, 9, does not approve of Rick, 39, as a stepfather to his kids, an insider says. And last year’s bitter divorce from Kid Rock has Pamela’s friends concerned that she’s rushing into another marriage — with the man best known as Paris Hilton’s co-star in her infamous sex tape.

Many also worry that Pamela, who has hepatitis C, will put her life in danger carrying another child. But she has given up alcohol and is undergoing a new therapy called ozone treatment, which floods the body with oxygen, hoping it will cure her disease. And ob-gyn Dr. Sheryl A. Ross, who does not treat Pamela, says her hepatitis C should not affect her pregnancy nor will it be passed on to her unborn child. “The risk to the fetus is extremely low, less than 5 percent. She would be unlikely to transmit the virus to her offspring,�?

Dr. Ross says.

Pamela is excited about motherhood — and marriage — again. “She’s listening to her heart,�? an insider says. “Rick adores her and will be the best husband she’s ever had.�? Her close friend adds, “Pam says that after all these years of looking, the right one was right there beside her the whole time.�?