Rachel Riley Announces She Is Expecting First Child With Pasha Kovalev

She announced the news with a Countdown conundrum.

Rachel Riley has announced she’s expecting her first child with her Strictly boyfriend Pasha Kovalev.

The Countdown presenter shared a photo of herself holding her bump on set, next to a set of letters that spelled out the word “maternity”.

“Pash and I have a conundrum for you... you have til December to work it out!” she wrote. “We’re over the moon excited.”

Pash and I have a conundrum for you...you have till December to work it out!
We’re over the moon excited 😍 pic.twitter.com/citHdZnDN4

— Rachel Riley (@RachelRileyRR) May 24, 2019

The couple met when they were paired on the 2013 series of Strictly, and began dating shortly after Riley was eliminated from the show. The TV star was previously married to Jamie Gilbert for 16 months, after nine years together.

Speaking to the Radio Times last year about marriage plans with Pasha, she said: “I am in love now. I don’t feel I have to get married. I don’t think I need that pressure any more.

“I don’t worry about getting married or whether he is taking a long time in the morning or whether he has done the dishes. That does not really bother me in the long term. I feel settled.”

In February, Kovalev announced he was quitting Strictly as a professional dancer after eight years on the show – in 2014, he won the glitterball with celebrity partner Caroline Flack.

And this is not the only Strictly baby on the cards – Gemma Atkinson and Gorka Marquez, who met on the 2017 series, are also expecting a baby later this year, having announced the pregnancy in February.

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