In an exclusive new interview and photoshoot in HELLO! magazine, Catherine Tyldesley has revealed she is expecting a second child with her husband Tom Pitfield.
"We're absolutely elated," says the 38-year-old Scarborough and Viewpoint actress. "We feel so lucky. When we found out, I just burst into tears." Now 14 weeks pregnant, Catherine has already found out she is expecting a daughter, due in April, a little sister for their six-year-old son, Alfie.
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The news is all the more special as for the past couple of years, she has struggled with a hormonal imbalance that caused her body to mimic the symptoms of pregnancy. "I took so many tests as I was convinced I was actually pregnant, but in fact my body was just mimicking a pregnancy," she reveals. "So this time, even when my stomach was a bit swollen, I just thought: 'Oh hormonal imbalances again.'"
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Of expecting a daughter with her 36-year-old photographer husband, she adds: "Tom was in bits when we found out we are having a little girl. He has suddenly gone all mushy. I'm sure she will have him wrapped around her little finger."
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During the early weeks, Catherine reveals how she thought she might be approaching the menopause instead of being pregnant: "I was having terrible insomnia, which is still with me. I was so hot at night and unable to control my temperature. I started to panic that perhaps I was perimenopausal. I know I would have been a bit young, but it does happen."
© Photo: HELLO!The actress is having a little girl
She has since been diagnosed with hyperemesis gravidarum, the debilitating condition also suffered by the Duchess of Cambridge that causes severe nausea and vomiting during pregnancy. "It is not like morning sickness as you feel sick all day," Catherine says. "It is the same thing Kate had, although I have not been as extreme as her. I was put on medication and that has been a godsend as I feel so much better."
The former Strictly Come Dancing star, who was partnered with Johannes Radebe in 2019, is backing him to win with John Whaite. "I am so proud of him and John, they are smashing it. Johannes is the most wonderful choreographer. Everything he does is straight from his heart."
To read the full article, pick up the latest issue of HELLO! on sale now. Subscribe to HELLO! to get the magazine delivered free to your door every week or purchase the digital edition online via our Apple or Google apps.
