Parenting

BABY NEWS: Jesinta Franklin gives birth to her first child, following long fertility struggle

Congratulations, Franklin clan!
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Jesinta Franklin has given birth to her first child with husband and AFL star Lance “Buddy” Franklin, an adorable baby girl.

The 28-year-old former Miss Universe Australia announced the happy news via a statement to the Daily Telegraph and revealed her sweet name as well.

“Jesinta and Lance are thrilled to announce the arrival of their beautiful baby daughter, Tallulah Franklin,” a spokeswoman told the publication.

“They are both absolutely besotted with her.”

Back in August, Jesinta announced her pregnancy on her personal app, with her announcement hinting at her long fertility struggle.

“My husband and I are so incredibly excited and overjoyed to announce that we have a baby on the way,” Jesinta wrote, adding that the process of falling pregnant was not a simple one.

It’s a girl!

(Credit: Getty)

“The journey to get here hasn’t been easy and this little life is the greatest gift and we feel truly blessed and grateful that we will have a little angel of our own,” she said.

“We have both dreamt of this for a long time and whilst the last 2.5 years have been physically and emotionally challenging, there’s nothing we would change as it’s brought us to this beautiful moment.

“The immense love we already have for our baby is indescribable and we can’t wait to meet our little miracle.”

Jesinta showed off her bump for the first time at the Myer Spring fashion event in August.

(Credit: Getty)

Jesinta cradled her baby bump protectively for her first public appearance while pregnant.

(Credit: Getty)

Jesinta said she chose to go public with her fertility battles because she hopes her honesty will help other women and couples experiencing similar issues feel less alone.

“Because I had struggled to fall pregnant and there had been losses along the way, as a woman who had been through that I felt like I was doing so many couples a disservice to come out and say, ‘Surprise, we are pregnant,’ because I know that would make me feel even worse about our pregnancy journey,” Jesinta told the Herald Sun, hinting at several miscarriages.

“I wanted other women to find comfort in the fact that this was not a surprise. It really was an effort and took us a long time.”

READ NEXT: Jesinta Franklin’s gorgeous baby bump in pictures

Buddy and Jesinta struggled to fall pregnant at first.

(Credit: Instagram)

Jesinta (and her adorable bump!) hanging out with Buddy and Nan.

(Credit: Instagram)

Gaining weight and stretch marks is an expected part of pregnancy, but for a model like Jesinta who makes a living out of being photographed, often in a bikini or her underwear, you might expect her to be slightly alarmed about the changes her body experienced during the past nine months.

But the Olay and Tiffany & Co ambassador, who has described her first trimester as “like the worst hangover times 1000 for 12 weeks straight”, said she couldn’t care less about gaining a few extra kilos, even joking that she had become quite “top-heavy”.

“There are lots of different stretch marks that I didn’t have before and I’ve noticed some cellulite and I’ve gone up a few sizes, but I could put on 100kg and have a body covered in stretch marks and it would not bother me at all,” she told the Herald Sun.

“My physical appearance and how I look means nothing to me in comparison to having a baby and starting a family.”

WATCH BELOW: Jesinta Franklin talks about her relationship with husband Buddy Franklin. Story continues after video.

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Jesinta and Buddy started dating in 2012 and were married in 2016 in a low-key ceremony in the Blue Mountains.

The couple now live in Sydney’s Rose Bay, with Buddy, 32, contracted to play with the Sydney Swans until 2022.

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