Shayne Ward and Sophie Austin got a surprise in the delivery room last month when their second child made an appearance. The former Coronation Street star revealed that the couple were expecting a second daughter after sharing the news that Sophie was pregnant back in January.
However, they were instead greeted by a baby boy, a younger sibling for their five-year-old daughter Willow. Sharing the news on Instagram on June 17, Shayne and Sophie shared identical posts and said: "And then there were Four! 11/06/22 we had a HUGE surprise! Not a baby girl we were expecting but a beautiful baby Boy.
They added: "We are so overjoyed and blessed that sir baby Ward has arrived." The loved-up couple made the announcement alongside a snap of their new family's hands all on top of one another.
Speaking to Hello magazine about their new arrival, Shayne and Sophie confirmed they called their soon Reign before Shayne, who rose to fame on The X Factor, said of the birth: "For nine months you believe you having a girl.
"But a healthy baby is a healthy baby. Your initial reaction is ‘Excuse me?!’ but more than anything I just wanted the baby to be okay. And he absolutely was."
Speaking about Willow’s reaction to her new brother, the 37-year-old singer and actor said: "We’ve let her come around him in her own time," adding: "It’s been really heart-warming to see how she’s built her own little friendship with him already. Every morning she says ‘Can I see him, can I see him?’ She was reading stories to him last night and is always wanting to be near him."
Sophie, 38, who starred in Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks for almost three years, revealed how she and her fiance decided on their son’s name after being unprepared for naming a boy. "There was one name I had heard that I had liked, which was Reign, and Shayne loves anything medieval."
Shayne added: "As soon as she suggested it, I thought it was nice. My middle name is Thomas and Austin is after Sophie’s father. I thought that Reign Thomas Austin Ward sounded really good and it just fitted him."
Despite their surprise, the couple say they 'weren't fussed' about the gender. They were able to conceive Reign naturally following failed attempts at IVF, and shared their delight at becoming a family of four.
"I can’t believe we have got one of each," Shayne said. "We are so blessed with this journey that we’ve been on – after we did IVF, this all happened naturally. I wasn’t fussed if it was a boy or girl, I just knew I had to have another child. I was over the moon that I was a dad again."
Shayne and his partner welcomed their first child together in 2016 when Sophie gave birth to daughter Willow. A year after their daughter's arrival the couple announced they were engaged in December 2017.
The full interview with Shayne and Sophie is available in Hello! magazine, on newsstands now.
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