Kate Ferdinand shows off her tummy in a tight-fitting black dress

Kate Ferdinand gave social media followers a second look at her growing baby bump on Monday, just over a day after confirming her pregnancy.

The former TV personality, who is already mother to son Cree, two, with husband Rio, confirmed the news in a pregnancy reveal video over the weekend.

Returning to Instagram, Kate, 28, shared a bathroom selfie as she thanked fans for their positive messages following her surprise announcement on Sunday.

Captioning the post, she wrote: ‘Thank you so much for all your lovely messages, we are all so excited! I’m so happy to have shared this with you, I’ve found it hard to keep this quiet.

Kate, who is also a stepmother to Rio’s husband’s children Lorenz, 16, Tate, 14, and Tia, 11, from his first marriage, welcomed son Cree with the retired footballer in December 2020.

She later suffered a miscarriage in July 2022, shortly after discovering that she had become pregnant with a second child.

Discussing her latest pregnancy on her Blended podcast, the former TOWIE star admitted she was relieved to finally confirm the news, after weeks of apprehension over her recent miscarriage.

She told listeners: ‘I’ve been on all my social media quite a bit because I’m not very good at lying. During my last pregnancy when I had the miscarriage, I was constantly moaning that I had back pain, all these things were going wrong for me, but when I had the miscarriage, I felt terrible from moaning.

“I’m not sure if Rio would agree, but I think I’ve complained a little less this time and everything is going well so far.”

Kate confirmed the news in an Instagram post on Sunday morning, with the former TOWIE star revealing a prominent baby bump in a short video clip.

Captioning the post, underlined with the Minnie Riperton song Loving You, she wrote: “We’ve been praying for you.”

Her latest news sparked an inevitable wave of supportive comments from celebrity friends, with a heavily pregnant Molly-Mae Hague writing: “Congratulations Kate.”

Elsewhere, former TOWIE co-star Billie Shepherd wrote, “So many congratulations honey,” while Georgia Kousoulou added, “Awww so happy for you.”

talking about her Mixed podcast in September, the former television personality recalled the moment she found out she had lost her unborn child.

“I found out I was pregnant the day before my birthday,” she told listeners. ‘We were supposed to get on a boat and go drinking the next day and I was so seasick it was a crazy birthday.

‘Everyone else was crazy and dancing, she hadn’t told anyone and she was so sick on the ship.

‘I was so excited. Rio was so excited that we couldn’t wait to have a brother Cree’s age because big kids are so much older.

“We thought it would be wonderful for him to have a little buddy running around. The children registered this time, so we told them and some relatives this time.

Kate also recalled the moment she found out her pregnancy was not progressing and admitted to seeing the sonographer’s face when she was told there was no heartbeat and it left her crying.

She said: ‘I was thinking maybe it was a girl because I felt a little different. Looking back, I was sick at first and then I wasn’t. I was a bit anxious, but I’m an anxious person anyway.

‘[Me and Rio] I went to lunch before the 12 week scan and there was blood there and I felt like God was giving me a sign. We were literally leaving to go to the scanner.

We both tried to pretend it wasn’t happening and it was fine. It was the longest walk to the hospital. I felt that I knew and that someone was preparing me. He only had to look at the lady’s face. It was horrible, I started crying.

She added: ‘I wasn’t prepared for what happens next. We had planned how to tell everyone. We had filmed the kids and we were going to go home and put it on social media.

“I just wanted to get out of the room, but I was also terrified of leaving the room because I have to go and tell the kids and go home and act normal.”

‘It was a Friday and Lorenz’s birthday on Sunday and then the surgery on Monday. It was the longest weekend of my life.

The former television personality explained that going to the hospital for surgery after suffering a miscarriage brought back memories of childbirth.

She said: ‘It was the same hospital for surgery where I had Cree and the same medical team. I felt like I was having my C-section again. It was very hard when you’re grieving a loss that no one can see.’

The former TOWIE star previously spoke about the “traumatic birth” of his son after he was delivered via emergency C-section.

On Instagram shortly after her birth, she wrote: “Day 11… What a bubble this is… We are so obsessed with our little angel Cree.”

“I seem to stare at him for hours on end, seeing the kids and him is literally the stuff of dreams, feeling completely overwhelmed.”

‘I wanted to share this with you. This is me… and let me add that this is a much better version of me than the last 10 days.’

She added: ‘After having an emergency C-section and a slightly traumatic birth, I’ve been completely wiped out.

“The happiness has been overwhelming, but so have the tears and emotions. I felt like I couldn’t do what I needed to do with Cree as I haven’t been able to constantly change or feed him, which he has had.” me feeling all kinds of guilt, for Cree, Rio and that I can’t be doing what I normally do for the kids.

‘It’s a whirlwind that I just didn’t expect… but at the same time the most perfect whirlwind.’

Kate has been open about how she struggled being a stepmom to Rio’s three children with his first wife Rebecca, who died of breast cancer in 2015, as well as being pregnant while dealing with mental health battles.

Speaking to the Women’s Health Going for Goal podcast in September 2020, she said: ‘The confinement has been an experience. Obviously I was pregnant and the kids didn’t know it, and something I’ve struggled with is being pregnant with my first biological child and still being a mom.

‘So I felt like I had all these new experiences… but I was still a stepmother or a mother figure to three kids. I struggle with my mental health. Being active helps me on a day-to-day basis with my anxiety, so when I can’t do things, I struggle with it.’

Discussing her first pregnancy with MailOnline in June, the former TV personality admitted she was “tired” but “listening to her body”.

Speaking about how her energy has changed since she got pregnant, she said: “I think being pregnant changes, sometimes you’re a little more tired, but I try to stay active because it’s good for my mind.”

“We go for walks with the family, stuff like that, it doesn’t always have to be crazy exercise, as long as you’re moving more than you’re sitting down, you still feel good.”