Ayda Williams shared a heartwrenching post just one month after celebrating her vow renewal with Robbie Williams.
The Loose Women star took to Instagram to share photos of her two pet dogs Poupette and Walle who have had a huge part in the couple's love story, starting at the very beginning in 2006.
The dogs acted as the pair's best man and maid of honor for their first wedding at their Los Angeles home on 7 August 2010, and again when they secretly renewed their vows last month - one year earlier than they had originally planned.
With such a special history with her furry friends, Ayda was understandably overcome with emotion as she announced they had both died together "in bed, listening to 'Dancing Queen.'"
Opening up about the backstory behind the two very special members of the family, she wrote: "Poupette’s been with me 18 years. From the day we met, she was my soulmate. I was a single girl, and all of a sudden, with Poupette, I was a ‘single mom’."
Ayda continued: "When I met Rob 6 months later, I told him Poupette and I were a package deal. Rob, at the time, had 3 big dogs & I assumed he’d baulk at the idea of having to take a tiny, white, fluffy dog on the streets, shouting ‘Poupette’ with a Northern English accent. But, Rob immediately fell in love with her and all of a sudden, the big tattooed, popstar… became a small-fluffy-dog kinda guy.
"When things got serious a year later, we decided to expand our family and get a dog together. There was no doubt the day we met Walle, this was the boy for us. He cuddled us & kissed us & chased us all around. From that day forward, on 4th of July, we officially became a blended family.
"2 years later, when Rob & I decided to tie the knot, we knew exactly who we wanted for our bridal party…our dogs. Poupette was, naturally, my maid of honor & Walle was Rob’s best man…
"As time has gone on, we have had to say our sad goodbyes to each of those bridesmaids & groomsmen. Miraculously, Poupette & Walle have held on. Recently, Rob & I renewed our marriage vows. There’s a lot of things we’re facing now (more on that another time) and we wanted to celebrate what was good in our lives; family & love.
"Just as 14 years ago… Poupette was my maid of honor & Walle was Rob’s man. I think they were just holding on to make sure they showed up for ‘Mom’ & ‘Dad’ when we really needed them."
Closing off her heartfelt tribute to Poupette and Walle – who have also witnessed the couple welcome their four children Teddy, Charlie, Coco, five and Beau – she concluded: "The final members of the bridal party have left us, but if I know Poupette and Walle, they are going to throw one heck of an after-party.
"Poupette and Walle, you watched me grow from a girl to a woman, and supported me for all my adult life. I love you with all my heart. May you rest and play together, forever and tell me all about it when I see you again."
Robbie and Ayda's first wedding
Robbie and Ayda shared their 2010 wedding day exclusively with HELLO! magazine.
They surprised their 60 guests, who thought they were attending a James Bond Casino Royale party in celebration of Robbie's 20 years in the business. Instead, they watched The X Factor star Ayda walk down the aisle in a striking Monique Lhuillier wedding dress with a netted silk taffeta skirt and a beaded corset.
"Ayda looked like the most beautiful girl in the world," Robbie gushed. "The setting was so magical, and to be surrounded by family and close friends and then see Ayda appear looking so radiant was almost too much for me to take.
"When I walked down the aisle with our dogs and heard everyone cheering it made me so emotional I'm surprised I held it together. I'm the happiest man alive."
One easy way to ensure they kept their secret from friends and family was to give their dogs special roles.
Ayda said: "So our doggies are taking the bridesmaid roles! I was originally thinking little bow ties for them, but instead they're going to each have flower collars."
Secret vow renewal
The American actress' recent confession about her dogs acting as her bridal party for the second time is one of the few details we know about their vow renewal.
Robbie shocked fans by simply dropping the bombshell: "Oh, me and Ayda renewed our vows," into one caption on Instagram. Next to a series of images showing himself drawn as a cartoon, the pop star
opened up about his hectic schedule before taking a positive outlook on recent events.
He wrote: "I feel confident, and I’m experiencing a new vitality that I’ve been missing. I got a new smile. I got a new pink jacket. I played in the pool. I ate some crap, and it was lovely crap. I wrote and recorded two new songs, one for the end titles of my film. I played basketball with Teddy, Charlie, and Beau. Oh, and me and Ayda renewed our vows.
"I am very, very, very grateful. I’m grateful right now. I’m not in the future, tired and stressed. I’m right here, right now, grateful. What are you grateful for? Write it. Feel it. If you can’t be arsed to write it, think it. Own it. Namaste FFS, Robert Williams."