Paralympian Ade Adepitan reveals fans mistake his baby son Bolla for a TEDDY BEAR
Paralympian Ade Adepitan has revealed his fans mistake his baby son Bolla for a teddy bear.
In a new interview, the presenter, 48, who welcomed his first child with wife Linda Harrison, 30, in January, recalled when the family were stopped in the street as some members of the public believed his four-month-old wasn’t real.
The sportsman said: ‘It was bonkers that people thought it was more realistic that I would be carrying a teddy bear on my lap.
‘It’s bonkers!’ Paralympian Ade Adepitan has revealed his fans mistake his baby son Bolla for a teddy bear
‘Bolla has got a bear suit and he looks super-cute in it. We put him in it when we go for a walk. I needed to drop something off at my local shop. As I arrived, the lady was like, ”Oh, you have a teddy bear. It’s lovely you have a teddy”.
‘I realise people are still not used to seeing people with disabilities being independent. It’s the same problem where they think someone with a disability is a person who should be looked after.’
In his chat with The Mirror, the media personality also credited lockdown as a blessing for allowing him to spend time with his baby boy.
Fatherhood: In a new interview, the presenter, 48, welcomed his four-month-old child with wife Linda Harrison, 30, in January,
The former wheelchair basketball player earned an MBE in 2005 for services to disability sport, which gave him the right to marry Linda, who also goes by the stage name of Ella Exxe, in the quire of St Paul’s Cathedral on August 2018.
The sportsman told Hello! at the time: ‘Everyone says it’s the best day of your life but it was probably better than that.
‘We were ordinary people in an extraordinary place and you could see everyone take a breath as they looked around at the grand surroundings. It was slightly overwhelming.
An achievement: The sportsman earned an MBE in 2005 for services to disability sport (pictured in 2019)
‘She looked so so beautiful. My eyes started watering, and quite a few of my friends turned their faces away as they didn’t want to start crying, too.’
Ade – who was born in Lagos – famously survived polio as a youngster, which caused the loss of function in his left leg.
In 2012, he spearheaded all things Olympic/Paralympic for the London Games, appearing on Channel 4’s BAFTA Award winning Paralympic programming alongside Clare Balding.
‘Smashed it’: The former wheelchair basketball player updated fans on Bolla’s arrival earlier this year