‘We’re so happy to share our special news!’ Strictly Come Dancing couple Janette Manrara and Aljaž Škorjanec confirm they are expecting their first child after two year struggle to conceive
Strictly Come Dancing couple Janette Manrara and Aljaž Škorjanec have confirmed they are expecting their first child.
The professional ballroom dancers announced the news in an Instagram post on Sunday afternoon in conjunction with a magazine cover shoot, to be published by HELLO! on Monday.
Captioning an official photo from the spread, Janette, 39, wrote: ‘We’re so happy to share our special news!’
Detailing her pregnancy in an accompanying interview, the Cuban-American choreographer admitted she had struggled to conceive for more than two years, prompting fears that it might never happen.
‘For the past couple of years we hadn’t been using protection but nothing was happening, so we thought IVF was the next best thing for us to do,’ she explained.
‘I turn 40 later this year and the NHS offers really good services to women under 40. The doctor said that as soon as I got my period we would start injections, but my period never came.’
Happy news: Strictly Come Dancing couple Janette Manrara and Aljaž Škorjanec have confirmed they are expecting their first child
‘I know that IVF can be really strenuous on a woman’s body and there is no guarantee it will work, so to know that this little miracle just came from a wonderful night we had together is amazing. I think the baby decided to make Mum and Dad panic a bit before saying, “ok, fine, I’m coming up now.”‘
Janette explained how she told Aljaž she was pregnant by handing him the positive pregnancy test and that they ‘cried and hugged; it was quite a moment’.
Aljaž added that he was ‘beside myself’ and hoped the baby would look more like Janette than him.
It comes after Janette admitted on BBC Morning Live in 2021 that it was a ‘scary decision’ to make because as a dancer, her body is her ‘tool’.
The ballroom champion said the coronavirus crisis made her realise there will never be a ‘perfect’ time to get pregnant and the couple are now looking forward to becoming parents.
In an appearance on the breakfast TV show, Janette was questioned by BBC host Gethin Jones about reports of her plans to have a baby.
The Cuban-American dancer admitted it was a ‘scary’ decision, saying: ‘Do you know what it is? It’s very scary being a dancer, my body is kind of my tool.
‘It’s what I use. And Aljaž and I, we dance and work and do everything together so if you think about it when I fall pregnant, that’s fifty per cent of the team gone.
‘So it’s a real big decision and it’s a scary decision for us to make.’
She added: ‘But what I did say, is that Covid taught me that there is never going to be a perfect time and that every time is the right time. So we’re very much looking forward to being parents.’
Big decision: The Cuban-American dancer said that as a dancer, her body is her ‘tool’ so ‘when I fall pregnant, that’s fifty per cent of the team gone’
In an interview with Hello! magazine two years ago, Janette revealed the couple’s baby plans.
She said: ‘We always wanted to have a baby, but 2020 has definitely made me say to myself: “You know what, Janette, it’s never going to be the perfect time but it’s always going to be the right time”.’
The TV star insisted that she and Aljaz are ‘ready to be parents’, gushing that her partner, who is also a Strictly professional, is a ‘wonderful man’.
She said: ‘We’re definitely ready to be parents so we will see when that moment comes – you can’t plan it – we will be beside ourselves and Aljaz will be the best dad.’
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