Hayley Tamaddon has revealed her shock at being pregnant with her first child at 42. During a chat with Closer Magazine, the former Emmerdale actress confessed she took 18 tests to confirm the news. "I must have taken 18 tests - 10 after my first one and then one each day throughout the week," she shared. "I spent a fortune as we couldn't believe it." The ex-Corrie star previously revealed that she had given up hope on conceiving and had suffered a miscarriage prior to this pregnancy. "The fact I'm 42 and having a baby is absolutely incredible," she added. "For so long I thought I couldn't have children, it just never happened."
"Now that it has, everything feels natural and so right. We're expecting a boy, which is amazing, and I’ve never been happier." Hayley announced her pregnancy in April and just three weeks later, Hayley shared that her boyfriend Adrian had proposed. The TV star went on to reveal that she always hoped to be pregnant in her early thirties. "I'm so maternal it's ridiculous, I have a natural mothering and bossy instinct," she said. "I always thought I'd be married by 30 and have my first child at 33 but life didn’t work out that way. Ive been in long-term relationships in the past and I expected kids would follow naturally but they never did."
MORE: Hayley Tamaddon accidentally reveals her baby's gender
On the topic of having more children in the future, Hayley explained: "I've always said I only wanted one and I'm so over the moon, but I might try for a second in a couple of years. It's not on my agenda, but at least I know I can do it and that feels amazing!" Former DOI contestant Hayley found love with her partner Adrian two years ago, after splitting from Joe Tracini. As well as dating former Hollyoaks star Joe – who is the son of comedian Joe Pasquale – she's also been romantically linked to comedian Marcus Bridgstocke.
MORE: Prince Edward and the Countess of Wessex celebrate 20th wedding anniversary
Like this story? Sign up to our newsletter to get other stories like this delivered straight to your inbox.