Gemma Atkinson has said it is “sad but true” that one of the few close friends she told about her baby news tried to sell the story before she announced it publicly. The former Emmerdale and Hollyoaks actress announced that she and fiance Gorka Marquez are expecting their second child together last month.
The pair met when Gemma in 2017 when Gemma was a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing. They already share a daughter, called Mia, who was born in July 2019, and they are now set to welcome a baby boy to their family, the Manchester Evening News reports.
Both Gemma and Gorka posted a string of black and white images to their Instagram pages when they announced the news. They included a sweet snap of Mai putting her head against Gemma's bump and a selfie taken by Gorka of the three together, as they wait to become a family of four – or six if you include dogs Ollie and Norman.
READ MORE: Gemma Atkinson responds as she's told 'not to marry' Gorka Marquez
“Impossible to hide my belly any longer. I’ve officially 'popped',” Gemma wrote in the caption to her 1.8 million followers. “Our baby boy will be joining our family later this year.” She added: “We feel so incredibly blessed and Grateful to be on this journey again. Mia is absolutely thrilled! Although we may need to do some negotiating on names, as so far she’s adamant he’s going to be called Barbie.”
The 38-year-old star has been sharing updates of her pregnancy with her followers but has now revealed that the initial announcement may not have happened when it did if it hadn't been for a disloyal friend.
While presenting on Hits Radio, Gemma was asked by her drivetime co-host Mike Toolan: “Have you ever had anyone really betray a big secret?”
“Yes, recently,” Gemma responded, as Mike suddenly recalled how he and producer Matt had come under suspicion. “Now I'm expecting, we only told about 14 people and you and producer Matt were two of them. And we told very close friends and family.”
She went on: “My agent had a call and someone had told a newspaper and the newspaper wanted to run that I was pregnant. And that's why we put it on Instagram because we thought if we could get it out there first, whoever's sold the story won't get paid.”
Mike then said: “So I remember you saying that one out of those 14 trusted people, of which I was one and producer Matt was another, leaked it to the press because nobody else knew. And Gemma did this whole 'Wagatha Christie' thing.”
Laughing, Gemma said: “I did,” as Mike recalled: “She came in, she looked me up and down and she said, 'Tools, you know, my big baby news? Who have you told?' And I was like, 'huh?' nervous laugh.” Gemma added: “The first thing you both did was, 'Well it wasn't me!' You [Mike] actually put your hands up.”
She added: “We've done a bit of a whodunnit, Cluedo and we've done some eliminations...” as Mike asked: “Do you think you've worked out who it is?” Gemma replied: “Yeah and we're not telling them. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, Tools.”
The soap star then shared a video of the exchange, which had been posted to the Hits Radio Instagram page, and wrote: “Sad but true.”
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