Ben Foden and his wife Jackie have revealed that she is pregnant after ‘given up hope’ following a string of losses.
After only two weeks of dating, the rugby star, 38, and his US-born girlfriend, also 38, married in August 2019.
Ben was previously married to Una Healy of The Saturdays, with whom he has two children: Aoife, 11, and Tadgh, eight.
The athlete also has a daughter, Farrah, with American socialite Jackie, whom he married three years ago.
He and Jackie have now revealed to OK! Magazine that Jackie is currently in her second trimester of pregnancy.
‘We’re so excited about a second baby,’ Jackie said. ‘We’re using this as our grand announcement – we’ve only told those who are really close to us.’
Little Farrah also spoke up during the interview, stating she was’very delighted’ to be a big sister.
Following a difficult year, England rugby player Ben dubbed his wife ‘Superwoman,’ since this is Jackie’s fourth pregnancy in a year.
After a string of losses, the couple was taken aback when Jackie’s pregnancy test came up positive in April of this year.
‘I kept getting excited about the pregnancies, but nothing stuck,’ Jackie said.
‘After the third (miscarriage) we kept thinking, “We’ll see if it happens – if it does, it does and if it doesn’t, it doesn’t.” It’s hard not to get your hopes up when you really want another baby.’
She said that her mum ‘had a hunch’ that her hormone levels were off, so she went to get her bloods monitored.
Jackie added that her pregnancy is still ‘higher risk’ due to marginal cord insertion, which means the umbilical cord implanted in the wrong area, so professionals will be making sure ‘the baby is growing at the correct rate’.
Despite the emotional failures, Jackie and Ben persisted, exclaiming, ‘Props to Ben!’
But Ben, who now resides in New York, is not to be blamed.
Jackie stated that her body went through ‘a lot’ throughout the miscarriages.
‘The first pregnancy got to around seven or eight weeks, and the others were much earlier, so that’s why we wanted to wait to make sure everything was ok with this one. Plus, with my age, a lot of things can go wrong.’
Meanwhile, Ben, 42, of Dancing On Ice, discussed co-parenting with Una, whom he divorced in 2018 after six years of marriage.
Despite his previous adultery and a tumultuous divorce, Ben insisted on wishing Una “happiness.”
Ben said it’s been a ‘journey’ juggling parental responsibilities since moving to the United States four years ago, while Una is still in Ireland.
‘Una and I have just been trying to figure it out,’ Ben said.
‘Then Jackie obviously came into the equation, and she’s brilliant with the kids. We’ve now got a good routine.’
Ben also recounted Aoife and Tadhg’s reactions to having another sibling, which he revealed to them during a summer visit.
‘They’ll also be coming over for Christmas, just before the baby is born,’ he shared.
Pregnancy loss helpline
For emotional support, you can contact Miscarriage Association’s pregnancy loss helpline on 01924 200799 or email info@miscarriageassociation.org.uk.
