Ben Foden’s wife Jackie has given birth to their second child.
The former rugby player, 38, and the American socialite, 39, revealed their happy news on Monday, sharing that they have named their newborn daughter Olympia, nicknamed Pia.
The little girl was born two weeks prematurely by caesarean section on January 9, weighing 3.4kg, after Jackie experienced health complications and three tragic miscarriages.
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Ben is also dad to Aoife, 11, and Tadgh, nine, who he has with his ex-wife, The Saturdays singer Una Healy, 42.
Ben Foden’s wife Jackie has given birth to their second child and said they have named their newborn daughter Olympia, nicknamed Pia
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Ben is also dad to Aoife, 11, and Tadgh, nine, who he has with his ex-wife, The Saturdays singer Una Healy, 42 (pictured two weeks ago)
Announcing the new via OK! magazine, Ben said: ‘Olympia – or, as we call her, Pia – is her mother’s doppelgänger. I’m incredibly lucky.’
Jackie explained that she ended up having a scheduled C-section at Olympia because she was diagnosed with cholestasis during pregnancy.
Cholestasis during pregnancy is a condition that slows or stops the normal flow of bile in the gallbladder, which can cause severe itching.
She said: ‘I could barely move towards the end so I was happy she was out. I was limping because I had tendonitis in my hip. In addition, I was very itchy, especially at night, which prevented me from sleeping.’
‘I tried to wait as long as possible, but the doctors told me that January 9 was the most I could do. Looking back, I’m glad I didn’t wait longer. She weighed 8lb 3oz; if we had let her go full term they said she would have weighed over 10 pounds!’
Tragically, Jackie also told the publication how she and Ben struggled to have Olympia, revealing: ‘We also had three miscarriages before Olympia. We started trying to get pregnant around August 2022, then tried again in November, then March 2023, then April 2023 with Olympia.”
Rugby player Ben and American businesswoman Jackie infamously tied the knot on board a luxury yacht in 2019, on the same day his divorce from Saturday singer Una Healy was finalized.
Una and Ben were married for six years, but separated when it became known that Ben had been unfaithful.
Jackie explained that she ended up having a scheduled C-section at Olympia because she was diagnosed with cholestasis during pregnancy.