Jessica Fox has welcomed her first child with her husband Nicholas Willes.
The Holloaks star, 39, who plays Nancy Hayton on the Channel 4 soap, took to Instagram on Tuesday to share her jovial baby news with her followers.
The new mother announced that she and her husband Nicholas had named their baby boy River, gushing: ‘Baby River, you have changed our world forever and we are so grateful we get to love you’.
Jessica shared a number of photos from the birth, including one of her first cuddle with her baby boy as her husband looked on.
Another snap showed Nicholas proudly carrying their baby out of the hospital, while she also shared a close-up image of River’s hospital ID bracelet, which revealed he was born on March 7.
Happy news: Jessica Fox has welcomed her first child with her husband Nicholas Willes, a baby boy they have named River
Sweet: The new mother announced that she and her husband Nicholas had named their baby boy River, captioning a series of photos: ‘Baby River, you have changed our world forever’
He’s here: Jessica and Nicholas welcomed their baby boy on March 7, her photos revealed
Jessica, who secretly married Nicholas in 2020, revealed she was pregnant in October 2022, taking to Instagram to share a picture of her baby scan.
In the post, shared on baby loss awareness week, Jessica also candidly opened up about her fertility journey, explaining she has previously suffered two miscarriages.
Confirming her pregnancy, she wrote: ‘This week has been baby loss awareness week.
‘So it seemed a good (and bad) time to share our story at the end of such an important and heartbreaking campaign and to show our support to all those who have been or are going through a similar journey.
‘Trigger warning: Trying to conceive and conceiving after loss. Please make use of the mute or unfollow button if any of this is too much for you.
‘Out of difficulties, grow miracles. Due spring 2023.’
In a longer caption, shared as a series of screenshots alongside her post, she went on to open up about her fertility journey.
She penned: ‘Nick and I have been on a rocky road to get to this point. Miscarriage is awful, there is no other word for it.
New arrival: The Holloaks star, 39, who plays Nancy Hayton on the Channel 4 soap, took to Instagram on Tuesday to share her jovial baby news with her followers
Congratulations! Jessica’s celeb pals and Hollyoaks co-stars flooded her Instagram post with happy messages
‘It robs you of the future you had planned, your faith in your body, it’s isolating, lonely, frightening and nobody seems to talk about it.
‘It’s incredibly painful, it’s pass out in your bathroom painful. It takes away the joy and excitement when and if you choose (and are able) to get pregnant again.
‘It’s replaced by anxiety, stress and more fear than I ever could have imaged. Nick and I lost two babies in 2021. Both losses were at the end of the first trimester and completely heartbreaking.
She then explained how tough it was when her Hollyoaks character became pregnant: ‘In a cruel twist of fate, when I got pregnant the second time, the character I play on Hollyoaks was pregnant too.
‘On Twitter and Instagram I would see comments that I must be pregnant in real life. I looked pregnant almost straight away and I had started to put on weight.
‘I started to show at work, I felt very smug that I’d have the most realistic baby bump ever. Maybe my actual baby could play my child on screen? The wardrobe department, who are the kindest people on earth, were the only ones who knew I was expecting.
‘Then I lost the baby. On the Friday, I had a real bump, on the Monday I was putting on a fake one. It was every bit as horrific as it sounds. I tried to keep it a secret and get on with it. Sharing this on social media is not something I ever expected to do.’
She went on to say: ‘On my due date, at work, I was handed a beautiful tiny baby and I cried uncontrollably throughout the whole scene.
‘The director, not knowing my situation must have thought I was fantastic – I was broken. My mental health was s**t. I’d given up sleep, I’d developed a fear of driving, intrusive thoughts and we think a form of OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder).
‘A holiday, meditation, the NHS and most important time, things improved massively and I hope they burned that bloody bump. On holiday in Greece, I saw the most beautiful rainbow, I was pregnant by the time I got home.’
Jessica announced her engagement to Nicholas in November 2019 as she shared a snap of her sparkling engagement ring on Instagram.
The soap star captioned the post: ‘Be with someone you can be completely yourself with.
Expecting: Jessica, who secretly married Nicholas in 2020, revealed she was pregnant in October 2022, taking to Instagram to share a picture of her baby scan
Difficulties: Jessica has candidly opened up about her fertility journey, explaining she has previously suffered two miscarriages
‘Someone who makes you want to be better, kinder, eat more fruit and veg. So of course I said ‘yes’.’
They secretly got married in 2020 and she shared her happy news on Instagram at the time with sweet snaps of herself and her new husband.
Captioning the photos, Jessica seemingly revealed that they decided to tie the knot after their dream ‘planned wedding’ was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
She penned: ‘While we wait for the Wedding we planned to go ahead… we thought we’d get on with the business of being married.’
