19 February 2024 , 21:00
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Ben Foden is a proud father once again - after welcoming his second child with his second wife, Jackie Belanoff Smith.
The 38-year-old rugby player and his 39-year-old wife have named their new baby daughter Olympia Halcyon Foden - and couldn’t be happier with their new bundle of joy. Ben - who was previously married to The Saturdays’ Una Healy and has been married to Jackie since 2019 - became a dad for the fourth time a little earlier than expected, arriving two weeks before her due date via a planned C-section at 12pm on 9 January, weighing 8lb 3oz.
The proud parents have shown off their new daughter in a series of adorable family snaps - alongside Olympia’s three-year-old big sister Farrah. Ben and Jackie - both wearing baby pink for a photoshoot - beamed as they posed with their young daughters.
The duo have explained that they are affectionally referring to their youngest child as ‘Pia’ and are feeling “incredibly lucky” to have her in their lives after they suffered three devastating miscarriages in the past. Ben - who shares daughter Aoife, 12, and son Tadhg, nine, with Una - affectionately cradled Olympia in the photographs.
Ben shares three-year-old daughter Farrah with Jackie too (OK! Magazine / Rebecca Miller)
Olympia was born via c-section in January (OK! Magazine / Rebecca Miller)The family posed for OK! magazine and explained how they were adapting to their new family life. Speaking about being a mother again, Jackie said: “We are, but also a little tired, as expected. I ended up having a planned C-section with Olympia as during my pregnancy I was diagnosed with cholestasis [linked to liver issues which results in itchiness] and I was so uncomfortable and itchy towards the end. I tried to wait as long as possible but the doctors advised me that 9 January was as far as I could go.”
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Jackie went on to explain that she was reluctant to welcome her daughter close to the festive season as she fears she misses out on getting gifts herself because her own birthday is 1 December and she doesn’t want her daughter to suffer a similar fate.
Ben added that his eldest daughters from his first marriage had been staying with him and Jackie at their home in New York before Olympia arrived.
Ben and Jackie have shared details of the difficult birth and their happy new family dynamic (OK! Magazine / Rebecca Miller)The proud dad said: “They’ve not met in person yet, no. We’ve FaceTimed and called a couple of times though. They both came over to visit on 26 December and it was awesome to have them over just before Olympia was born. It meant we could take them to one of Jackie’s scans so they could see the baby. It was really special. We also took them skiing at a centre near Jackie’s parent’s house in Connecticut and they were total naturals. It was nice to spend time just the five of us before Olympia came along.”
Discussing Olympia’s arrival, Jackie confessed there were some health concerns during the delivery. She revealed her blood pressure dropped and she lost “a lot of blood” and was left feeling like she was experiencing tunnel vision. She added: “One half of the hospital team were checking Olympia and the other half were taking care of me. I kept throwing up afterwards too, which wasn’t fun.”
To see all the exclusive pictures and watch video footage visit http://OK.co.uk or pick up a copy of OK magazine