This time last year, Ellen White was savouring being an integral part of the winning team which brought football home for the Lionesses at the Euros. Fast forward 12 months and the retired England striker is currently living a very different kind of dream: that of motherhood.
Exclusively introducing her and husband Callum Convery’s baby daughter to HELLO! magazine and revealing for the first time that she is called Jennifer Maeve Convery – known as Maeve – she says: "We've spoken about her for so long and she has slotted into our family, like she's been here forever. She comes everywhere with me, it's like having a little best friend."
Ellen White introduces her daughter to HELLO!
"Our lives have completely changed but Maeve has just turned up and fitted right in," Callum adds. "It's the best thing and you can't do it justice with words alone. Little Maeve, who has just turned 14 weeks old when we meet, was born at the end of April weighing in at 8lbs 4oz. Her first name was chosen in honour of Ellen’s grandmother while her middle name was simply one they both liked.
Special meaning behind baby girl's name
"Jennifer is after my grandma; we really liked the name and we thought it would be nice to use it. Then we just stumbled across Maeve and thought it sounded really cute and a bit different. Jennifer Maeve flows very nicely but she will be known as Maeve."
And despite her tender years, she is already making famous friends; prior to flying out to Australia to play in the World Cup, Maeve was taken to meet the Lionesses at their training ground where she was presented with a tiny England training shirt featuring her name printed on the back.
"They all met Maeve and gave her the little shirt," Ellen says. "That was very sweet. Their schedule has been insane but hopefully when they win the World Cup we can see them more."
Ellen reveals birth story
Maeve’s arrival was as calm as the demeanour of her besotted parents after she was born via planned C-section at Tameside hospital. Explaining why the surgery was planned, Ellen says: "I had had a number of injuries from playing football, including to my back, and I had fractured my pubic bone and have punctured my lung. We felt this was the safest route to go down."
So, when Ellen was 39 weeks pregnant, she and Callum checked into the hospital at 7.30am. And within a couple of short hours, Maeve was born. "We felt like it was a really nice experience," Ellen recalls. "Obviously everyone goes through different types of labour so we feel extremely lucky to have experienced what we did and have the support and the staff at the hospital – they were just so amazing. It was all pretty relaxed and felt quite calm."
Photography: Trevor Leighton
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