ANNOUNCING THEY ARE EXPECTING THEIR FIRST CHILD RHIAN SUGDEN AND OLIVER MELLOR THE MODEL AND HER ACTOR HUSBAND TELL OF THEIR HAPPINESS AFTER SIX YEARS OF I.V.F HEARTBREAK

Gently cradling her baby bump, model Rhian Sugden glows with health and happiness in the arms of her husband, actor and proud dad-to-be Oliver Mellor.

- SALLY MORGAN

After six years and eight gruelling rounds of IVF, the couple have revealed exclusively to HELLO! that they have finally succeeded in fulfilling their dream of expecting a baby.

“We’re over the moon,” says Rhian, 37, who is 16 weeks pregnant. “Our lives are going to change so much, which is very exciting.”

Oliver, 42, who starred in ITV’s Coronation Street for two and a half years, says: “I can’t wait for the baby to be born. I’ll pump my fist to the sky and shout: ‘I’m a dad!’ It’s given us a new lease of life.

“I have such a spring in my step, and love to play music and dance around the house. Now that we’re finally having a baby, it feels as if it was always meant to be.”

DREAMS COME TRUE

Watching their precious little one on the scans has been a “happy but surreal” experience for the couple. “The most exciting part so far was seeing the heartbeat for the first time,” Oliver says.

Rhian continues: “At the last scan, we saw the baby’s little nose and mouth in profile, and he or she – we don’t know the gender yet – was drinking. I can’t wait until I feel it kicking.

“I’m also obsessed with its size and keep checking it on my baby app.”

Oliver adds with a smile: “Every morning she gets out her app and excitedly tells me. It’s either the size of an animal, a cake or a fruit. At the moment, it’s the size of a mango.”