Mark Wright has revealed that he wanted to tick one thing off his bucket list before starting a family with wife Michelle Keegan.
The TOWIE star and former Corrie actress, both 37, recently announced they are expecting their first child, nearly a decade after tying the knot.
Over the years, the couple have been busy building their careers and their stunning £3.5 million Essex mansion. The baby news was shared on Instagram, with a heartwarming photo of Michelle cradling her baby bump on the beach, while Mark looks on, the Mirror reports.
They captioned the post: “2025 is going to be a special one for us… [baby emoji. love heart emoji]. The comments section was filled with messages of love and support from celebrity pals and fans of the couple.
After years of batting away intrusive questions about when they would be starting a family, the couple’s news delighted fans. But Mark had previously divulged the reason they hung on for a decade before deciding they are ready for kids.
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Speaking to Heart back in 2019, promoting The Bachelor UK, Mark said he wanted to make sure he was “travelled out” before becoming a dad.
He added that although they were already “excited” to start a family, he wasn’t “quite there yet” at the time.
He expressed his desire to feel content with his travels before starting a family. Mark elaborated: “I just want to make sure I’m all travelled out. I’m getting to the point where I just want to settle now at home and have a job that brings me home every day, but I’m not quite there yet.”
“The Bachelor brought me to Antigua and South Africa, and Michelle’s filming Our Girl and I’m going to live there for a month.”
Meanwhile, Michelle has voiced her irritation over the constant questioning about when she will have a baby.
In an interview with Women’s Health, she highlighted the disparity in how often she is asked compared to her husband. Michelle remarked: “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.”
Addressing the invasive curiosity about her personal life, she told The Mirror: “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.”
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