Michelle Keegan and Mark Wright entered 2025 with the exciting news that they are expecting their first child – the first of the year’s probably many celebrity baby announcements.
The couple, both 37, revealed their baby joy by sharing a sweet snap of the Fool Me Once star cradling her blossoming bump, alongside the caption, ‘2025 is going to be a special one for us.’ It will be the first child for the pair – who have been married for almost decade, having tied the knot back in May 2015.
Speaking about the happy news, a source tells heat, ‘Mark and Michelle are over the moon and have been ecstatic ever since finding out they were expecting – especially after having waited so long. They’ve been together for over 10 years now and have always known that they wanted to have a family. This is an incredibly special time for them.’
The couple have already started prepping for parenthood by baby-proofing their £3.5 million Essex mega-mansion – which they moved into two years ago after building from scratch. The source reveals, ‘Michelle is due in the spring, and they’ve already almost furnished the nursery, which will be decked out with the best baby furniture and gadgets that money can buy. They know the sex of the baby and have told all their loved ones, but they’ve decided to keep it a secret from the public so that they can have something for themselves.’
Mark – who rose to fame on The Only Way Is Essex – has often spoke of his hopes to one day start a family with the former Coronation Street star. Back in 2016, he admitted that babies were certainly on his and Michelle’s radar – adding that they planned to ‘wait a year or two’ before having children, prioritising their careers instead. Joking about becoming a dad he said, ‘It’s hard work with the pressure of having babies. We’re going to give birth to an ugly duckling and let everyone down!’
However, Mark isn’t the only one who’s opened up about the public pressure to welcome Baby Wright. Noting in 2019 that not everyone’s fertility journey is straightforward, Brassic actress Michelle hit back at the constant questions she faced over when she would become a mother, saying ‘People don’t know if we’re trying. They don’t know the background of what’s happening. It’s no one else’s business.’ She added a couple of years later, ‘Nobody knows what goes on behind closed doors, and that’s why the question affects me so much – it’s very private.’
But with motherhood now fast approaching, our source says that the couple’s friends and family – including Mark’s mum Carol, 64, and big sis Jess, 39 – are overjoyed to be welcoming a newbie into the fold.
We’re told, ‘This Christmas was a particularly special one for them all, with Michelle enjoying being fussed over and both of them lapping up all the excitement from their families.’
And alongside family support, we’re told Mark has already entered dad mode. The source reveals, ‘The first three months were particularly rough for Michelle, as she’s suffered with a lot of morning sickness and generally didn’t feel herself at all – which understandably got her feeling down. Mark’s been absolutely amazing and stepped up as the doting dad-to-be, doing late-night runs to McDonald’s when she’s not fancied eating anything else, covering for her in the early days before they told anyone, and generally being her rock through all the scans and anxiety-inducing moments. He’s on cloud nine and can’t wait to be a dad. He’s been ready for the last decade, and he can’t believe their baby dream has finally come true.’
The insider adds, ‘Mark and Michelle both wanted to keep their news quiet for as long as possible, but now they’re both beyond excited to have announced it to the world. They’re on a high right now – and it makes it even more special having waited a bit longer for this moment.’