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Escape to the Country's Jonnie Irwin opens up about young son's operation

The presenter and his wife welcomed twin boys last year

jonnie irwin
Eve Crosbie
TV & Film Writer
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Escape to the Country star Jonnie Irwin opened up to HELLO! about the health problems his twin sons have faced, revealing that one sadly underwent surgery in the first few months of his life.

MORE: A Place in the Sun's Jonnie Irwin reveals incredible transformation at London home

"Both boys have had health issues," the TV presenter explained back in 2020. "Rafa had to go under general anaesthetic for a hernia operation, and they've had milk intolerances and fevers." The 47-year-old presenter and wife Jessica welcomed the adorable twin boys Rafa and Cormac in June 2020. Their eldest son, Rex, was born in late 2018.

WATCH: Jonnie Irwin talks disaster on set of A Place in the Sun

Jonnie reassured that while "it's only what lots of other babies go through" because there are two of them, "it seems like twice as many worries".

MORE: Escape to the Country star Jonnie Irwin reveals son Rex's amazing skill: 'He's not even three yet'

MORE: Jonnie Irwin makes candid comment about fatherhood with adorable photos of sons

The TV star also spoke candidly about the difficulties of working away from his family for popular shows such as Channel 4's A Place in the Sun, BBC's Escape to the Country and Escape to the Perfect Town.

jonnie irwin family© Photo: Instagram

Jonnie shared a sweet snap of the family to Instagram

He said: "I feel guilty not being here more to help, but Jess is the most flexible person in the world. She's very grounded and takes a really common-sense approach to things. Our lives have always been like this, but in the future I'd like to spend more time in the UK."

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Last summer, the father-of-three shared with his Instagram followers that he had travelled for over 24 hours to get home to his wife and children. Alongside a sweet snap of the whole family, Jonnie wrote: "25 hours of travelling to get back to the family for a couple of precious days.

"To be honest the work days are far from a walk in the park at the moment but it relieves a bit of the guilt I feel from leaving their mum on her own to hold the fort. Plus times with this fella are rarely anything but good ones."

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