Was this the moment Jamie Laing changed his mind about being a dad? Ex MIC star spoke on podcast about 'secret battle' he hid from Sophie
Former Made in Chelsea stars Sophie Habboo and Jamie Laing have announced they're set to become parents - just weeks after Radio 1 DJ Jamie admitted to his own 'secret battle' over becoming a father.
The reality TV couple shared their happy news on Instagram on Tuesday, posting a photo of them staring in awe at an ultrasound scan.
The post, captioned with a heart emoji, evoked hundreds of well wishes from fans congratulating them on the incoming pitter patter of tiny feet.
However, parenthood hasn't always a given for the couple, who married in a lavish Spanish wedding in 2023 after getting together on Made In Chelsea - with Laing being frank about whether he wanted to become a father at all, saying there's 'no eject button' with children.
An episode of his Great Company podcast, in which he shared the mic with University Challenge host Amol Rajan, saw the MIC star admit that the prospect of parenthood once spiked his anxiety levels so badly he fled a restaurant when Sophie told him she thought she might be pregnant.
Laing opened up to BBC broadcaster Rajan, 41, saying that he'd been addicted to the 'dopamine' hits of his former party lifestyle - and made the decision at one point that he wouldn't have children at all.
In the episode father-of-four Rajan, who endured a long fertility battle with his partner, Charlotte Faircloth, urged couples who are undecided on having children not to use IVF as a 'fallback' - after Laing admitted he wasn't even sure if he was fertile, saying: 'I also don't know if I can, you know I'm 36.'
The University Challenge host told the now dad-to-be that his own experiences with struggling to conceive a family had left him fearing that many people still regarded IVF as a 'fallback' - and urged undecided couples not to put off becoming parents because of it.
The couple announced they are expecting their first child in a post on Instagram on Tuesday
He told Laing: 'I worry about the idea that a lot of people think that you can delay having kids because IVF is, like, this fallback option.'
He added: 'IVF is a near miracle technology, it's an amazing thing and it's a wonderful thing but it doesn't work for everyone and it's a lot of heartache.'
He said: 'As I got older, I thought I was going to have kids and I was going to have a family, and then that shifted in my mind and I thought "I'm not going to have kids, I'm not going to have a family'".
Laing said his 'dopamine-craving period' had seen him not wanting to stop having fun, sparking an 'internal battle' that he didn't share with Sophie, admitting: 'I never told her "I don't think I want to do this"'.
He told Rajan that perhaps his biggest fear was that you can't change your mind about being a parent once a baby has arrived.
'I run businesses and different different things but there's always an eject button there's always a way out - with kids, there is not, you're locked in,' he said.
Rajan, who also presents Radio 4's Today programme, explained the heartache he and his partner had suffered when fertility treatment hadn't worked.
He said: 'The whole time that I was editor of The Independent, I had this kind of secret life where I was trying to run a newspaper, turn a business round.'
He said he was also trying to 'be a good boss, be a good journalist, be a good leader - but at the same time my heart was hurting because we were going through IVF.'
In another episode of the Great Company podcast in December last year, Laing also opened up about his fears over having kids when his producer Jemima interviewed him.
He explained: 'I would really like to have one, but it has been a real long road because I was really scared of babies and I was really scared of commitment.
'The idea of not being able to escape something, with work or even divorce, there's always a way out. But with a baby there's no way out. There is no way out because you are committed to that little human forever and that for me is really quite scary.
He went on to add: 'Still really scary, it is a real fear. To the point where at the start of last year, Sophie thought she was pregnant and I had to leave the restaurant because I was so stressed.
The news this week of the couple's pregnancy saw a host of famous faces offer their congratulations, including Molly-Mae Hague, Strictly's Dianne Buswell and author and Jamie's close pal Elizabeth Day, who wrote: 'So happy for you both!'
Sophie's sister Georgia - who welcomed her first child last year - reshared the post saying it was the 'best news'.
The sweet clip showed them having an ultrasound as Sophie looked delighted staring at the screen
The announcement comes just after Sophie joined Jamie in presenting his Radio 1 drive time show when his co-star Vick Hope left on maternity leave.
Vick, 35, who is expecting her first child with DJ Calvin Harris, 41, hosted her last show on the station last week.
Sophie and Jamie already host their podcast NewlyWeds together - with the duo recently revealing it would be going on a break.
In an Instagram update last week, they announced: 'The podcast is taking a break?! We're pressing pause but only for a moment.'
A source later told The Sun: 'Sophie is joining the Radio 1 family and everyone is really excited that she'll be bringing her chemistry with hubby Jaime to the airwaves.
'They're already pros after doing their podcast for so many years but this is a huge moment for them and they can't wait.
Sophie sweetly looked at the screen as Jamie filmed her having the scan
'It could lead to endless opportunities for them as a couple. They could even be a modern day Richard and Judy.'
Sophie recently sparked pregnancy rumours as she shared a bikini Instagram while touching her stomach.
Back in April Jamie and Sophie spilled the beans on their baby plans, during a chat with The Times.
'I was really scared about kids,' Jamie explained. 'It's something you can't control. Sophie would then carry a baby, all these different things that I can't control and, 'Oh God, what happens if this happen or that happens?' But I saw a clip on Instagram where someone said, 'The best thing I ever had is being called Dad.'
'I was like, 'Oh, wouldn't that be cool?' So now I'm so down for it. I would like to have loads.'
Jamie added he would be up for four kids, and the blonde beauty agreed with him sweetly.
Sophie and Jamie had two weddings - a civil ceremony at Chelsea Town hall before jetting to Spain for a bigger, more lavish ceremony.
A host of their Made In Chelsea co-stars were in attendance including Sam Thompson, Olivia Bentley, Emily Blackwell, Spencer Matthews and Oliver Proudlock.
Blonde beauty Sophie got engaged to Jamie in December 2021 after they started dating in April 2019 on the show.
At the time they revealed that they turned down offers to film their wedding for a Made In Chelsea special – just after the Strictly star quit the E4 series to save their romance.
The couple revealed they had decided against turning their nuptials into a reality spinoff show because Jamie believed relationships have a better chance of surviving away from the cameras.
The Candy Kittens owner told MailOnline reality TV is 'tough on the soul' and after realising he wanted to marry former co-star Sophie he knew his departure from Made In Chelsea was inevitable.
Jamie revealed: 'We got asked to do a TV show but it's tricky.
'I have done reality for so long and it's tough on the soul. I don't think TV is ever on your own terms so unless you have control over those things then it's quite difficult.
'It's one of those things that you must decide whether you want to go down the reality TV route again or not.
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