Lindsay Hubbard Stands Firm on 'Summer House' Season 9 Filming Amid Pregnancy Criticism: 'Can't I Still Have Fun?' tram

Lindsay Hubbard won’t be activated by criticism of how she carries herself while pregnant.

The 37-year-old Summer House star — who announced on July 4 that she’s expecting her first child with her new boyfriend — responded to a commenter who questioned Hubbard on her July 14 Instagram post about why she chose to film season 9 of the Bravo show while pregnant.

“Can you not party when you’re pregnant?” Hubbard asked the commenter who wondered why she would “go back into a party house” while in a “different era” of her life.

Summer House began filming on Friday, July 5, in the Hamptons and saw all of the season 8 housemates, with the exception of Danielle Olivera, returning for season 9. That means Hubbard will be under the same roof as her ex-fiancé Carl Radke this summer after they called off their engagement last September.  

"That relationship is in my past, and I can't really focus on my past anymore because I'm so focused on my present and my future," she told PEOPLE earlier this month. "And to be honest, his emotions are no longer my responsibility. It's just not my problem anymore."

With her new boyfriend, Hubbard said she feels like she “met my match.”

"Obviously, it was a surprise and a shock at first because we were not trying or even planning, but we had some honest conversations and it just felt so right for both of us," Hubbard continued. "We have a very loving, caring and healthy relationship.”

The Bravolebrity, however, recognizes that bringing a baby into a new relationship will be a challenge. “Yes, it is a lot of pressure on a new relationship,” Hubbard said, “but I think because he's the right man because we are so bonded and connected and communicate very effectively with each other that it hasn't felt like work."

On July 8, Hubbard posted about the difficulties of hiding her pregnancy throughout her first trimester, during which she attended four weddings, appeared on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen and filmed the Summer House season 8 reunion.

"Hiding this news has been one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do! (Mentally, emotionally, and physically) 🥵," she wrote on Instagram.

On the other hand, Hubbard told PEOPLE that knowing about her baby on board while shooting the Summer House reunion in early May helped her stay poised when speaking to her castmates and host Andy Cohen.

"That's what allowed me that quiet, calm strength that I had at the reunion," she said. "In the back of my mind, the whole time I was thinking, 'Let me just get through this, and then I can focus on the important things that matter to me right now' — which certainly wasn't all that."

While Hubbard and her boyfriend don’t plan to share the sex of their baby, she feels elated to be able to finally talk about the pregnancy news.

"I'm just excited to actually be able to talk about it publicly now and share in the celebration with our friends," Hubbard said. "I'm a very 'scream from the rooftops' kind of girl. I'm just ready to let it all out now."

For Hubbard, the pregnancy feels “like my prayers were answered” after last summer’s struggles.

"The journey is really just crazy," she said. "All of a sudden, for a girl who's always wanted to be a mom, there I was at 37 years old, staring down the barrel of being single and questioning when dreams of having a family would happen. And then this incredible man comes back into my life and next thing you know, I'm pregnant. It's like the universe was saying, 'See? This is the time. This is the guy. Now you're ready.' “