Keshia Knight Pulliam Reveals How Divorce Inspired Her Baby's Name

— -- Keshia Knight Pulliam hesitated at first but couldn't hold back on sharing the name she's chosen for the baby girl she's expecting with her estranged husband Ed Hartwell.

"I was back and forth on if I wanted to share this or not, but I decided that I would because it is so hard for me to keep it in," the actress said Friday on her podcast, Kandidly Keshia. "I'm so excited about her. Her name is ... Ella Grace."

The former "The Cosby Show" actress announced in July she was expecting her first child with Hartwell. Days later, the 38-year-old former NFL player filed for divorce only months after the two wed in a secret ceremony in Georgia.

Pulliam, 37, said the drama surrounding her marriage inspired her daughter's middle name.

"I knew Ella was going to be my first baby girl's first name. Then in the midst of all of this is when she's earned her middle name, Grace," the actress explained. "When I tell you through all of this the grace of God has so been with us and has covered us and protected us -- she's been my saving grace to get through it."

"It's knowing that it's not about me. Knowing that on days when I want to curl up in the bed, pull the covers over my head and cry until my eyes fall out, that is not an option because she feels everything I feel and right now, it is bigger than me-- it's about her," Pulliam continued. "It is about her being OK."

Pulliam added that she's "so excited to meet" her daughter, stopping short of revealing when her baby is due.

"I know she's going to be an amazing woman," the actress said. "She comes from a long lineage of strong, just wonderful women, and I can't wait to see all that she is going to accomplish and add to the legacy."