Rachel Riley and Pasha Kovalev are due to welcome their second child this autumn. Ahead of the impending arrival, the Countdown host confessed that both she and Pasha were unsure about having children in the early stages of their relationship.
Having had time to reflect, the pair decided to go ahead before it was too late. "We've bashed them out! Get the sleep deprivation over in one go is the plan," she told MailOnline.
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"I'm 35 and I've got friends that are struggling with fertility, and you just never know if you're going to be able to get pregnant, we have been really lucky, touch wood and we're very excited.
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"They're great, we weren't sure if we wanted them before and we're just both in love, it's lovely."
Admitting that her first pregnancy with her daughter was "really mild," 35-year-old Rachel revealed that this time around she's barely noticed it.
"I'm chasing after a toddler the whole time, so it's a different experience," she added. "The first time you focus on the pregnancy and looking at yourself but the second time you know there's a baby coming and you're thinking about what the future is going to look like with your family of four."
© Photo: InstagramThe couple are already parents to little Maven
Rachel and Pasha, 41, started dating in 2014 after they were partnered together in the 2013 series of Strictly Come Dancing. They then married in June 2019 in Las Vegas, months before welcoming their first child, little Maven, on 15 December. They are due to welcome their second baby later this year.
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The TV star confirmed her second pregnancy in April - at the time, Rachel posted a picture of herself standing next to the iconic Countdown board which read out the word, "fittriley", an anagram for "fertility".
"A special teatime teaser," she wrote. "And your clue is... Riley had this to thank for the reason her clothes no longer fit her... " She added: "And it'll only get worse till Autumn! Happy, happy days for our little family @pashakovalev and future big sister Mave."
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