Their journey to fatherhood has taken over three years, with euphoric highs and heartbreaking lows along the way. But now, sitting with their twin son and daughter in their arms, Ollie Locke and Gareth finally have the family of their dreams.
"The babies are here – this is what we’ve been waiting for. It’s this wonderful moment when we know that we’re the fathers we always wanted to be," says Ollie, 36, as the two Made in Chelsea stars invite HELLO! into their south-west London home for their first photoshoot as a family of four.
"The journey makes the end result all the more worthwhile and now they’re here, it’s the best gift," adds Gareth, 34, of their precious six-week-old twins, whose names are Apollo Magnus Obi and Cosima Emily Bex.
Made In Chelsea stars supporting the new parents
Apollo, who was born weighing 3lb 10oz, and Cosima, who was 2lb 11oz, are lucky enough to already have a band of doting "godmothers" in the form of their parents' Made in Chelsea friends: Liv Bentley and Sophie Hermann, who have both met the newborns, plus Binky Felstead, who is "desperate" to get in some cuddles once she’s back from her summer holiday.
The special meaning behind the twins' names
Both babies’ names have Greek origins and hold special meaning. "I always wanted to have as on and call him Apollo," says Gareth, adding: "My dad’s nickname for my mum [Margaret]is Maggie, so Magnus is the male version." Their daughter’s name, meanwhile, means "chaos and beauty" – and "she's already living up to that", says Ollie with a smile. Cosima’s middle names are tributes to two special people: Ollie’s close friend Emily Hartridge, a YouTuber who passed away in 2019, and the couple’s surrogate, Bex Ward, who gave birth to the twins on 8 July.
"We hadn't told Bex we were naming the baby after her, so Ollie took her to the registry office after they were born and surprised her," says Gareth of Bex, who became the couple's surrogate after she contacted the pair on Instagram to offer her help, having watched their parenting journey on TV.
Made in Chelsea stars and their children
© Instagram- Binky Felstead has three children: India, shared with fellow MIC star Josh Patterson, and Wolfie and Wilder with husband Max Fredrik Darnton
- Spencer Matthews has three children with wife Vogue Williams: Theodore, Gigi and Otto
- Millie Mackintosh and fellow MIC star Hugo Taylor share two daughters: Sienna and Aurelia
- Louise Thompson and her partner Ryan Libbey have one son, Leo, who was born in 2021.
- Ollie Proudlock and his wife Emma Louise Connolly have one daughter, Bonnie Lou, who joined the family in 2022.
- Cheska Hull has one son, Charlie, with her ex-partner Tom Huggett
- Tiffany Watson welcomed her first son Jude in July 2023. She shares him with her husband Cameron McGheehan
- Maeva D'Ascanio and her partner James Taylor welcomed their first baby, Beau Christian Taylor in November 2022.
Ollie and Gareth's journey to parenthood
At the start of their journey to parenthood, they had been trying with a different surrogate, with embryo transfers taking place in Mexico and Cyprus, but she had two miscarriages. Embarking on IVF with Bex as their surrogate resulted in a third heartbreak at the first attempt, but now they have a happy ending to their story.
Their path to parenthood may have been long, but the twins’ entrance to the world happened very quickly indeed, with the twins arriving seven weeks early, at 31 weeks. "Our little monkeys decided to be really strong," says Ollie. "They wanted to come out early because they felt they were ready, and they were absolutely amazing. They needed a bit of help, but not as much as a lot of premature babies."
Our Daddy Diaries
The pair intend to keep their fans updated via their YouTube series Our Daddy Diaries, which is sponsored by Johnson & Johnson and made its debut last Sunday. “People see our lives through the beautiful gloss of [Made in] Chelsea, with the lovely music behind. This is stuff like us getting up in the middle of the night or pulling our hair out because the nappies haven’t arrived. It’s our lives, but very raw,” Ollie says.
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