Julia Bradbury has said that her pregnancies with her three children helped to "save" both her parents' lives. The Countryfile star is a mother to five-year-old Zephyrus and two-year-old twins Xanthe and Zena with her partner Gerard Cunningham. She explained to the Mail that the prospect of meeting their grandchildren had helped both her mother and father. "My mother was diagnosed with bowel cancer when I was pregnant with Zeph and I think that made a big difference," the 47-year-old TV presenter said. "I kept saying to her, 'You can't go, you can't go, you have to stay and meet your grandchild.'
Julia Bradbury pictured with her mum Chrissi
"Gerard and I didn't want to know the baby's sex but mum did. She felt it would make the baby feel more real, more tangible if she knew. So we gave the doctors permission to tell her – she was thrilled. I remember afternoons sitting holding hands on the sofa. She'd put her hand on my tummy and I'd put my hand on hers. It was so peaceful and happy.
Exclusive: Countryfile Julia Bradbury introduces 'miracle son' Zephyrus
"When Zeph was born, Mum and Dad were so excited. Mum pulled through and later Dad did too. We reckon the children saved both my parents' lives by giving them something to look forward to." The star said that both her parents, Chrissi, 79, and Michael, 76, are now both very hands-on grandparents, who drive the 100 miles from their home to London at least once a week to help out with childcare.
The Countryfile star is a proud mum of three
Julia welcomed her young twins in 2015, and proudly introduced the baby girls in an exclusive interview and photoshoot with HELLO!. "It's my dream come true and I feel incredibly lucky," said the Dublin-born presenter, who underwent IVF in order to conceive. "I still pinch myself and think, 'I'm a mother of three.' All the effort, everything we went through as a family, is more than worth it.
"I had been very happy throughout the pregnancy but there was always this cautionary shadow on my shoulder that something could go wrong. You don't take anything for granted – the five rounds of IVF, the heartaches and failures along the way and making it through the pregnancy. So the moment I felt the deepest joy was when they were both on my chest and I thought, 'They've made it.'"