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Shayne Ward and fiancée Sophie Austin introduce baby boy and reveal his name

The couple were told they were having a girl

shayne ward family
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X Factor winner Shayne Ward and his fiancée Sophie Austin have introduced their baby son in an exclusive interview and photoshoot with HELLO! magazine.

The couple, who exclusively reveal that the new addition is called Reign Thomas Austin Ward, tell HELLO! of their shock when they learned Sophie had given birth to a boy, after having been told at a pregnancy scan that they were expecting a girl.

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"He came out and Shayne first clocked it," Sophie said. "Then the doctors came over and said: 'We've got some news.' I was thinking the worst, that something awful had happened, but they said: 'You've got a baby boy!' So I felt more relief than anything else."

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Former Coronation Street star Shayne adds: "For nine months you believe you are having a girl. But a healthy baby is a healthy baby. Your initial reaction is 'Excuse me?!' but more than anything I just wanted the baby to be okay. And he absolutely was."

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Reign was born weighing 10lbs 4oz on June 11 at Wythenshawe Hospital, with his big sister Willow, five, already forming a close bond with him.

shayne ward baby

Shayne and Sophie were initially told they were having a girl

"We've let her come around him in her own time," Shayne says. "It's been really heartwarming to see how she's built her own little friendship with him already. Every morning she says 'Can I see him, can I see him?' She was reading stories to him last night and is always wanting to be near him."

The couple also tell the magazine how they settled on Reign's name. They had lined up some girls' names in preparation for the birth, so they had to hastily think of some new ones. "There was one name I had heard that I had liked, which was Reign, and Shayne loves anything medieval," Sophie says.

shayne ward and family baby

The couple are also parents to five-year-old Willow

Her fiancé continues: "As soon as she suggested it, I thought it was nice. My middle name is Thomas and Austin is after Sophie's father. I thought that Reign Thomas Austin Ward sounded really good and it just fitted him."

And Shayne tells the magazine how, after Reign was conceived naturally following failed attempts at IVF, that he couldn't be happier with his family of four. "I can't believe we have got one of each! We are so blessed with this journey that we've been on - after we did IVF, this all happened naturally. I wasn't fussed if it was a boy or girl, I just knew I had to have another child. I was over the moon that I was a dad again."

To read the full article, pick up the latest issue of HELLO! on sale now. 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.

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