Rachel Riley has thrown it back to her Las Vegas wedding for a very special cause. The pregnant Countdown star took to Instagram to post a previously unseen snap from her big day, which showed Rachel taking a selfie with her husband Pasha Kovalev. The ballroom dancer was pictured standing behind his wife as he sweetly placed a hand on her small baby bump.
"Sharing this wedding pic with my gorgeous husband on International #DayoftheGirl as I'm one of the lucky ones!" Rachel wrote. "12 million girls are married each year (nearly one every 2 seconds) before they reach adulthood – which robs them of their right to make their own life choices. Love @brides_do_good initiative - get a fabulous wedding dress while helping others at the same time. Check out bridesdogood.com to learn more about how to help end child marriage. #OnlyAGirl."
Rachel posted this gorgeous wedding photo
Rachel, 33, and Pasha, 39, took fans by surprise when they announced they had married in secret in California. In July, the mum-to-be uploaded a gorgeous photo of the couple posing in front of a carousel decorated with flowers. "Introducing the new Mr and Mrs Kovalev… we both said yes!" According to their wedding certificate, Rachel and Pasha were married in Las Vegas on 28 June.
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The wedding came shortly after Rachel announced her pregnancy in a Countdown-themed post. Sharing a photo of herself cradling her baby bump as she posed in front of the famous letters board, which spelled out "R TINY MATE" – an anagram of the word 'maternity' – she revealed: "Pash and I have a conundrum for you. You have till December to work it out! We're over the moon excited."
The Countdown star is due in December
The parents-to-be started dating in 2014, after they were partnered together in the 2013 series of Strictly. Rachel's first husband was Jamie Gilbert, her Oxford University sweetheart whom she split from in November 2013 after one year of marriage.
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She previously admitted that she didn't feel the need to ever get married again, telling Radio Times: "I am in love now. I don't feel I have to get married. I don’t think I need that pressure anymore. I don't worry about getting married or whether he is taking a long time in the morning or whether he has done the dishes. That does not really bother me in the long term. I feel settled." She added: "I don't feel the need to do it again. If I'm with someone and I'm happy, that's enough."
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