Loved up Strictly stars Gemma Atkinson and Gorka Marquez have welcomed their first child together.
The couple took to social media earlier this month (Saturday, July 6) to announce that Gemma gave birth to a daughter.
Gemma posted to Instagram: “And just like that, we’re a three! Our beautiful baby daughter arrived on Thursday 4th July and myself and Gorks couldn’t be happier ???”
She shared: “Shes incredible and she certainly made an entrance, giving us all quite a fright at times! Little Miss independent already! Thank you SO much to the nurses & doctors at The Royal Bolton Hospital who did the most incredible job taking care of myself and my baby.
“You’re all so wonderful and I’m so grateful to have had you all with me and to have been under your care these past 4 days ?”
“Let the next life chapter begin,” Gemma added.
Gorka said on his page: “Our beautiful baby daughter arrived on Thursday 4th July and myself and Gem couldn’t be happier ???
“She’s incredible and she certainly made an entrance, giving us all quite a fright at times. @glouiseatkinson my absolute HERO! After seeing you go through all you did to bring our little girl to life has made me love and respect you even more. What a trooper you are. I couldn’t be more proud of you!! ♥️”
He added: “Thank you SO much to the nurses & doctors at The Royal Bolton Hospital who did the most incredible job taking care of gem and our baby. ?
“Back home now for family time ????? #blessed”
The pair have since revealed first pictures of her daughter, who they’ve named Mia Louise Marquez.
Gemma and Gorka met on Strictly Come Dancing during its 2017 series.
Gemma performed with pro Aljaž Škorjanec while pro dancer Gorka was partnered with Gemma’s fellow celebrity contestant Alexandra Burke.
During the show there were rumours of a romance between the pair, and they confirmed on Valentine’s Day last year it was official.
Speaking last year after first confirming their romance, Gemma said: “It’s nice to be able to say he’s my boyfriend”.
The soap star insisted the couple were never together on the show.
“We were never hiding anything, but now that we’ve said, ‘Yes, we are together and we’re very happy,’ we can all just get on with it and things can calm down a bit,” she explained.
In an interview with The Sun’s Fabulous magazine, Gemma continued: “We only saw each other for the live show at weekends, and what was happening with me and Gorka was the last thing on our minds – well, on my mind anyway!”
She added: “I couldn’t have contemplated a relationship while the show was on, it was just too stressful.
“So it was a gradual thing. There was no lightning-bolt moment, unfortunately.”
It’s not the first Strictly baby: Ben Cohen and Kristina Rihanoff, who danced together in 2013’s season, welcomed a daughter together in 2016.
Strictly Come Dancing will return to BBC One in the autumn for a new series.
