When Manchester City star Bernardo Silva married model Ines Degener last summer in a romantic ceremony in their native Portugal, the bride's burgeoning baby bump was already showing underneath her gorgeous wedding gown.
And after sharing their big day with HELLO!, the couple are now proud to introduce their adorable daughter Carlota, who was born just a few weeks later.
"It's a dream come true being a father," the footballer tells us as he and Ines invite us into their Manchester home for this exclusive interview and photoshoot.
"It's a moment that changes your life. From that moment there is a new, most important thing in your life. Greeting her when I get back home from games and training sessions is always a moment of happiness and joy, and mostly forgetting about everything else and just focusing on being happy with her."
Since Carlota's birth in August, in their home city of Lisbon, the proud new parents have been adjusting to their new lives. With her mother's fair hair and blue eyes, Carlota is contented and alert, and a constant source of fascination for her doting parents.
"Carlota is like a mini Ines," says Bernardo. "It's beautiful seeing the two of them together, watching how well Ines is doing as a mum and understanding how lucky I am to have them both in my life."
Meanwhile Ines, 25, says Bernardo, 29, who flew back to Lisbon to be present for Carlota's birth, is proving to be a model father.
"Bernardo is a wonderful and exemplary father," she says. "The unconditional love he feels for our daughter and the way he looks at her makes me very emotional. He is very calm and patient; he doesn't want to waste a moment, and whether he's tired or not, he always wants to be present, and he wants to participate in everything and do everything.
"They have a unique bond. She is very lucky with the father she has, and I am very lucky with the father I chose for my daughter. He is simply incredible."
Ines, who is an ambassador for Italian fashion brand Calzedonia, is also happy to prioritise Bernardo's career over her own for now.
"I continue to have my work and my professional life but I have to adapt a lot to his life, which is the focus at the moment," she says. "Although he dedicates all the time he has, his schedule is not always compatible with the logistics of a baby and in that sense there needs to be more support from me."
To read the full interview, pick up the latest issue of HELLO! on sale in the UK now. You can subscribe to HELLO! to get the magazine delivered free to your door every week or purchase the digital edition online via our Apple or Google apps.
