TV star Michelle Keegan has shared the exciting news that she and husband Mark Wright are expecting their first baby.
The former Coronation Street actress and former The Only Way Essex star wed back in May 2015. Now, almost ten years on, they are starting a family together, as both their careers continue to excel, reports the Mirror.
Taking to Instagram on Sunday night, the pair shared a joint post, announcing the news: “2025 is going to be a special one for us… [baby emoji. love heart emoji],” the caption read. The snap shared by the excited pair showed Michelle cradling a baby bump on the beach with Mark looking on.
Michelle’s pregnancy news follows years of intrusive questioning from fans and family members about if and when the two stars would start a family together. Speaking in 2020, the 37-year-old mum-to-be revealed her loved ones had finally stopped asking when she was going to have a baby.
“I get asked about children whereas Mark wouldn’t for example,” she explained to Women’s Health. Michelle continued to add: “Why haven’t I had a child? When am I going to have a child?’ I don’t know what they want me to say. I don’t know what the right or wrong answer is.” When quizzed if her family ask her the dreaded question, the star laughed and replied: “Not any more!… People don’t mean any harm by it, but they know what the answer’s going to be.”
The Fool Me One star previously revealed she was continiously being hounded with unsolicited questions about when she expected to have kids, with Michelle branding the invasive questions as ‘horrible’.
Speaking to The Mirror about being asked about baby plans, she said: “It’s horrible. People don’t know if we’re trying. They don’t know the background of what’s happening. In this day and age, you shouldn’t be asking questions like that. I’m asked purely because I’m a woman. But I’m immune to it now – it’s like a reaction, and as soon as I hear it I brush it off as it’s no one else’s business.”
In 2018, Michelle told Women’s Health: “I’ve always been broody. I love kids, and I want four, so hopefully in the near future.” Meanwhile, her husband Mark, also 37, previously told The Sun: “We say we’re going to try [for a baby] every year but something comes up with work. So it’ll be Michelle filming in South Africa and then I got the job in Los Angeles – so we think, right, we’ll try next year.
“With kids, I used to want three or four. But now, I’m 31, we’re not having kids any time before 32. I think we could have two or three. Twins would be great because you’re getting two out of the way at once.”
The happy couple were flooded with invasive comments regarding their family planning choices in April 2023, as the radio host and football pundit shared a snap of himself and his wife cuddling their tiny premature nephew on social media. Dustin Wright, who was born 12 weeks early, was happily asleep in Michelle’s arms as she and Mark beamed for the camera.
The sweet picture sparked various Instagram comments questioning the pair on their plans to become parents. One wrote: “Come on you two, pull your fingers out. It’s time now.” The commentary about her reproductive choices reportedly left Michelle “furious” and “incredibly angry” at the time.
Mark and Michelle first met while on seperate holidays in Dubai at the end of 2012. The pair confirmed their relationship with an appearance at the 2013 National Television Awards a month later, and a showbiz power couple was born. Nine months after making their relationship official, the pair returned to Dubai, where a smitten Mark popped the question and Michelle said yes.
At the time, Mark told The Mirror after the proposal: “I’ve got now, for the first time in my life, what I’ve always wanted and what every boy dreams of – affection in a relationship, love, best friend, a girl I fancy… everything rolled into one.” After his whirlwind proposal, Mark and Michelle got married at St Mary’s Church in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. The couple then celebrated with a lavish reception at Hengrave Hall, a Tudor mansion.
One year after their dream wedding day, Michelle’s role on Our Girl took her to far flung-destinations including South East Asia and South Africa for filming – forcing the couple to go long distance. TV star Mark then bagged his ‘dream’ role in the States presenting for entertainment channel E! prompting him to divide his time between Essex and Los Angeles.
Speaking about how they got through the time spent apart, Michelle said on the Jonathan Ross show: “We were apart for about four months. It was really tough. People said how did you deal with it and stuff. Thank god for FaceTime and things like that. You’re on a countdown the whole time just to get home. I had six months off when I went home, so I went to America.”
After Michelle quit Our Girl in 2019 and Mark stepped down from his role in the States, the pair both returned to their home in Essex where they spent years renovating their perfect property before eventually moving into the lavish mansion.
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