Rhian Sugden proudly showed off her baby bump for the first time after announcing she is pregnant with her first child.
The glamour model, 37, marked 18 weeks into her pregnancy after spending £150,000 on IVF in her journey to become a mother.
Rhian and husband Oliver Mellor, 42, discovered they were expecting their child on their seventh round of treatment.
The former Celebrity Big Brother star shared a snap of her pregnancy curves from a set of swimwear snaps taken last month and explained how she managed to conceal her bump before her exciting announcement.
Rhian wrote: ‘It’s all about the angles… same day just a different view. Isn’t it wild how deceiving social media can be. I had you all fooled with that second pic that I posted last month.
Rhian Sugden proudly showed off her baby bump for the first time after announcing she is pregnant with her first child following her IVF battle
Rhian shared a snap of her pregnancy curves from a set of swimwear snaps taken last month and how she managed to conceal her bump
Rhian wrote: ‘Isn’t it wild how deceiving social media can be. I had you all fooled with that second pic that I posted last month’
‘Belly bean fully on board! We are on the grow! Trying to embrace all the changes my body is going through.. god help my chest and back.
‘#pregnancy #ivfsuccess #bumplife #noideawhatimdoing #18weeks #mindthehump’.
Fans took to the comment section to share their congratulations.
They wrote: ‘So pleased for you’, ‘Lovely bump and looking great on all angles, best wishes’ and ‘Still gorgeous at any angle’.
Rhian and Oliver, 42, who married in 2018, announced they are expecting their first child together earlier this month.
Sharing the news to Hello! magazine, Rhian said: ‘We’re over the moon, our lives are going to change so much, which is very exciting.’
The Coronation Street star added: ‘I can’t wait for the baby to be born, I’ll pump my fist to the sky and shout, “‘I’m a dad!”
The couple, who are expecting their baby May 4, admitted there were times they feared they would never be able to get pregnant.
Rhian had difficulty getting pregnant due to her low egg count and perimenopausal hormone levels and were only given just a three percent chance of conceiving naturally.
She announced her decision to start the in-vitro fertilisation process in 2019 after she was told by doctors that she has an egg count of someone at least 13 years older.
Rhian and Oliver, 42, who married in 2018, announced they are expecting their first child together earlier this month
Fans took to the comment section to share their congratulations. They wrote: ‘So pleased for you’ and ‘Still gorgeous at any angle’
The couple turned to IVF and went through seven rounds over the course of six years, costing an enormous £130,000.
But just before they gave up, they give the treatment one last time and took a pregnancy test nine days in – where she was greeted with the incredible news.
Oliver added: ‘I was woken up by her calling out, “Oh my God, I’m pregnant!”, When I opened my eyes, I could see her holding up the stick from the test and smiling at me. I’ll never forget the expression of sheer joy on her face, or the happiness and relief I felt inside.’
Rhian added he has taken several pregnancy tests a day ‘just to make sure’, as the news doesn’t yet feel real, she explained.
Rhian previously told her high anxiety around the time of her most recent IVF cycle and her mum’s cancer battle last summer led to an eating disorder.
Revealing she lost more than two stone after developing a fear of eating, Rhian said: ‘Last year was the year from hell.
‘I’m in a much better place now but in the summer I was so anxious that I felt full all the time and every time I tried to eat I felt like I was being strangled.
‘It was a really horrible choking sensation and for about three months I lived on a square of chocolate and half a banana every day.’
Rhian said she began to feel on an ‘even-keel’ after being prescribed anti-anxiety medication to help her cope.
