Laura Whitmore has confirmed she is pregnant with her first child, hours after it was revealed she and fiancé Iain Stirling had secretly got married last month.
The Love Island presenter, 35, took to Instagram on Wednesday to reveal the happy news, joking that ‘it’s starting to look like my lockdown beer belly is out of control’.
Laura admitted she struggled to keep her pregnancy secret during ‘times when I’ve had to run out of live radio to get sick in a bin or my penchant for a bowl of mashed potato in the morning’.
The couple’s baby news comes after it was revealed Laura and comedian Iain, 32, had secretly tied the knot during a Humanist ceremony at Dublin’s City Hall last month.
Happy news: Laura Whitmore has confirmed she is pregnant with her first child, hours after it was revealed she and fiancé Iain Stirling had secretly got married
Baby on the way: The Love Island presenter, 35, took to Instagram on Wednesday to reveal the happy news, joking that ‘it’s starting to look like my lockdown beer belly is out of control’
Taking to social media, Laura shared a photo of a Guns N’ Roses Sweet Child O’ Mine baby onesie and wrote: ‘So I’ve always tried to be protective over the personal side of my life.
‘A lot of things are just for me and my loved ones and we’ve chosen not to share publicly.
‘However I want to now share good news as it’s our news to share – and I’m gonna be honest it’s starting to look like my lock down beer belly is out of control.
‘Iain and I are expecting a baby early 2021. It’s been hard to keep such happy news quiet.
‘Especially the times when I’ve had to run out of live radio to get sick in a bin or my penchant for a bowl of mashed potato in the morning.
She continued: ‘I wasn’t hungover like everyone thought. In fact I was completely sober filming the entire series of Celeb Juice, which is quite the accolade!
Tied the knot: The news comes after it was reported that Laura, 35, and Iain , 32, tied the knot during a Humanist ceremony at Dublin’s City Hall last month (pictured earlier this year)
‘We’d appreciate our privacy respected but just wanted to spread some love and a reminder of the beauty of life.’
Iain added his own tongue-in-cheek announcement on Instagram, sharing a photo of his games consoles adorned with a post-it note reading ‘I will miss you xxx’.
He wrote alongside the snap: ‘Sorry to my old babies but there is a new baby coming early 2021.’
Both Iain and Laura’s posts were met with an outpouring of love from their celebrity friends, with Strictly and Radio 1 star Clara Amfo commenting: ‘YES CONGRATULATIONS xxxx.’
New baby in the house: Iain added his own tongue-in-cheek announcement on Instagram, sharing a photo of his games consoles adorned with a post it reading ‘I will miss you xxx’
Girls Aloud star Kimberley Walsh added: ‘Ah congratulations babe what lovely news!’
‘Congratulations to you both honestly you will make the most wonderful parents xxxx’ Scarlett Moffatt wrote and Dermot O’Leary commented: ‘The best news. Congrats x’
Laura’s co-star on Celebrity Juice Keith Lemon was relieved the news was finally out, writing: ‘At last! Massive ‘public’ congratulations! Lots of love and magical powers! Xxxxxx.’
Laura replied: ‘ha ha! Thanks for doing all those challenges on juice I couldn’t do xxx.’
Congratulations! Laura’s post was met with an outpouring of love from her celebrity friends
Laura and Iain’s happy news comes after the couple suffered a miscarriage in 2018, with the presenter admitting in an interview in August that it took her a year to be able to speak about the loss.
Explaining she hadn’t initially planned for her first pregnancy, the Irish star confessed she didn’t know whether she was meant to ‘cry or be emotional’ following the heartbreaking news, which came in September 2018.
Laura told The Times: ‘It took me a year to talk about my miscarriage. I’d heard about people having miscarriages when they were trying for babies, but my situation was very different.
‘What happens if you weren’t trying for a baby? I had that guilt of, ‘I wasn’t expecting this,’ so then you change your life. But then suddenly you have to change your head again after the miscarriage.’
Keeping her secret: Laura’s co-star on Celebrity Juice Keith Lemon was relieved the news was finally out, writing: ‘At last! Massive ‘public’ congratulations!’
Laura previously spoke about her miscarriage in an article she wrote herself for Hot Press last year.
She penned: ‘In the room I could see the outline of what looked like a jelly baby – just like in the movies. Then silence,’ she stated, before admitting the doctor told her: ‘I’m sorry there’s no heart-beat.’
News of Laura and Iain’s secret wedding emerged on Tuesday.
The ceremony was said to be very small in accordance to Ireland’s level 5 guidelines which allowed only 25 guests to be present at the time.
In their wedding certificate, it states Laura’s half-brother Adam and Iain’s sister Kirsten acted as witnesses.
Expecting: Laura admitted that she has found it hard to keep her news quiet, especially while filming Celebrity Juice which she quipped she was ‘completely sober for’ (pictured filming Celeb Juice in early December)
A source told The Sun: ‘Iain and Laura are so in love, they really wanted to get married as soon as possible.
‘Despite circumstances not being ideal, it was such a romantic day.’
The location of Dublin was no doubt sentimental to Laura who was grew up in the city, while Iain was raised in Scotland.
MailOnline has contacted Laura and Iain’s representatives for comment.
The couple opted to keep the news private after returning to the UK, but eagle-eyed fans spotted Iain wearing a wedding ring when he appeared on the special Loose Men episode of ITV’s Loose Women to mark International Men’s Day late last month.
Wedding bell: The couple are said to have tied the knot during a Humanist ceremony at Dublin’s City Hall last month (pictured in 2018)
Laura showed off her flashy diamond engagement back in April, but Iain is thought to have proposed earlier this year.
According to The Sun, Iain got down on one knee in South Africa after they filmed the most recent series of Love Island.
A family friend said: ‘They couldn’t be happier. We’re thrilled for them. He’d obviously thought about it for a while, as he designed the ring and yellow’s her favourite colour.’
The insider added that the couple’s wedding plans were on hold for the time being due to the ongoing coronavirus lockdown.
Ring: Eagle-eyed fans spotted Iain wearing a wedding ring when he appeared on the special Loose Men episode of ITV’s Loose Women
Pictured: Laura showed off her flashy diamond engagement back in April, but Iain is thought to have proposed earlier this year
They said: ‘Their wedding plans are on hold due to the lockdown but it’s lovely to have a wedding to come.’
However, it appears the pair had a change of heart and decided to tie the knot on November 11.
Laura and Iain met in 2016 but it wasn’t until the following summer that things turned romantic between them.
Appearing on the Chris Ramsey show, Iain said of their relationship: ‘I’ve got someone who’s like me, but much, much better.
‘And Laura’s got someone who’s like her, but much worse. I’ve done well out of it, but I’m dead happy because she’s lovely and stuff.’
Laura recently admitted that Iain procrastinated for so long in asking her for a date that she had to do it herself.
Loved-up: The couple moved in together in 2018 after a year of a dating
Appearing on JD’s In The Duffle Bag podcast, Laura recalled: ‘When we first met he didn’t even hit on me, he was too nervous to hit on me!
‘I think he was intimidated by me. I remember Iain was too scared to ask me out so in the end I had to ask him out.
‘He used to send me random messages, DM me and ask me about my dog. It took nine months but we got there! I was like ‘let’s just go for a drink’. I think I had to make the moves on him.’
The couple then moved in together after a year of dating.
Earlier this year, Laura and Iain also started working together, after Laura took over the role of Love Island host from her late friend Caroline Flack, who stepped down after her arrest following a row with boyfriend Lewis at her home.
In February, Caroline tragically took her own life, and Laura was praised for her professionalism and empathy as she continued to host the show and paid tribute to her late friend during the emotional finale.
Discussing his working dynamic with Laura on Loose Women, Iain joked: ‘She’s great isn’t she? I think she’s great. I love her, and there’s mortgage commitments that need to be considered. More because she’ll be coming to South Africa every now and then.
‘They take me a hot country and put me in a box. I could do it in my shed in my house, but why would I?’
Prior to dating Iain, Laura was linked to Paolo Nutini and Sunset Sons rocker Rory Williams, while she has been close to One Direction’s Niall Horan for years.
She split from Game of Thrones star Richard Madden back in 2016 after a short romance, and was also briefly linked to Leonardo DiCaprio after the 2016 BAFTA awards.
