AFL: Geelong Cats star Gary Ablett Jr. and his wife Jordan welcome their third child: “Another precious boy!”
Gary Ablett Jr. and his wife Jordan welcomed a baby boy.
Jordan announced the happy news in a post shared on Instagram on Sunday, along with a cherished photo of her Geelong Cats husband holding the newborn.
In the black and white frame, Gary resembles every inch of the doting father as he tenderly cradles the baby in what appears to be a hospital bed.
“Another precious boy!” she captioned the photo.
The couple’s glorious news was soon flooded with congratulations.
Gary Ablett Jr. and his wife Jordan welcomed a baby boy. Both pictured
In the black and white frame, Gary resembles every inch of the doting father as he tenderly cradles the baby in what appears to be a hospital bed. “Another precious boy!” she captioned the photo
AFL WAG Rebecca Judd quickly spoke kind words after the joyful news.
“Congratulations,” she wrote alongside praying hands and a red love heart emoji.
‘Congratulations! What great news,” added journalist Jacqueline Felgate.
Other WAGs soon joined the chorus, including Jessie Murphy, Jerri Jones and Nadia Bartel.
The couple, who have yet to reveal the newborn’s name, announced they were expecting in January when they shared a photo of son Levi having an ultrasound.
“We have another gift on the way,” Jordan wrote at the time, before adding, “Congratulations on our big four-year-old! You are so loved.’
It is the third child for Gary and Jordan, who are also parents to son Levi and 18-month-old daughter Grace.
In an interview with the podcast The important others in March 2021, Jordan spoke about the family’s heartbreak after Levi was diagnosed with a degenerative disease.
She said Levi took a long time to be diagnosed with the unspecified illness, and described the devastation she and Gary felt when they learned the condition was “life-threatening.”
The couple announced they were expecting a new child in January when they shared a photo of son Levi with an ultrasound
In an interview with The Significant Others podcast in March, Jordan spoke about the family’s heartbreak after Levi was diagnosed with a degenerative disease.
“I just remember being in that meeting with Gaz and when they said it I remember absolutely breaking down,” she said.
“There is a very short life expectancy, which is why I constantly tell people when they ask about Levi that we literally take it day by day because we have no idea what the future holds,” she continued.
After seeing a number of pediatricians, Jordan said it was the Geelong Football Club team doctor who finally put them in touch with the right person.
She said this new pediatrician “got the ball rolling,” and after months of worry, the couple, who married in 2016, finally had some answers.
Jordan said she and Gary first became concerned after noticing that Levi wasn’t hitting the same milestones as other kids his age.
They decided to make the little boy’s condition public because they didn’t want to lie when people asked about their son.
“People just said things like, ‘Levi needs to run around now.’ Comments like that are so nice to receive, but when you’re on the receiving end knowing everything that’s going on, it’s awkward,” she confessed.
Jordan said Levi took a long time to be diagnosed with the unspecified illness, describing the devastation she and Gary felt after learning the condition was “life-threatening.”
“We don’t want to lie and say, ‘Yeah, he’s running around,’ because he wasn’t running around.”
Jordan said Levi’s condition has only made the family more aware of how precious every moment they have together is.
The eldest son of Aussie Rules legend Gary Ablett Sr. – who was so skilled he was nicknamed “God” – Gary Jr. was an all-time great for AFL teams Geelong and the Gold Coast from 2002 to 2020.
The midfielder won two premierships with Geelong, winning the 2009 and 2013 Brownlow Medals as the best player in the game.
He was forced to retire after a poor run with an injury with 357 games under his belt.
“There is a very short life expectancy, which is why I constantly tell people when they ask about Levi that we literally take it day by day because we have no idea what the future holds,” Jordan said.