separate

Rhian Sugden has admitted that her and husband Oliver Mellor are spending more time apart after welcoming their miracle IVF baby.

The former glamour model, 40, told how becoming parents has put more strain on their marriage than their heartbreaking six-year battle to have a child.

Rhian and ex Coronation Street actor Oliver, 45, spent around £150,000 on eight rounds of IVF before welcoming their son George, now two, in 2024.

But while their gruelling fertility struggle brought them closer together at the time, Rhian says life as parents has left them struggling to find time for each other.

“The IVF itself made us stronger because we’d had to back each other up,” said Rhian.

“I felt guilty that I wasn’t gonna make him a dad because he’s like the best dad.

Read more on Rhian Sugden

RHI REVEAL

Rhian Sugden reveals why she’s been locked in a secret feud with Jodie Marsh

ONLY PRIVATE

Rhian Sugden takes swipe Katie Price after star reveals huge OnlyFans earnings

“So I had all that guilt of, oh god, I’m not gonna be able to fulfill his dream, my dream. So, he was very good in that respect.”

However, Rhian admitted things have dramatically changed between them since George arrived.

Speaking on the Private Parts podcast this week, Rhian explained: “The thing that’s changed our marriage is having the actual child.

“Like, we’re like strangers at the minute. It’s hard. Even when we go on holiday, we’re not really getting much time alone.”

The Celebrity Big Brother alum also revealed she now sleeps in George’s bedroom because of his sleep struggles.

She said: “George just didn’t sleep as a baby, and I was like, I can’t do this. Just get him in bed. So we’ve just bought him a double bed and now I’m in George’s bedroom.”

Rhian and Oliver began dating in 2013 and tied the knot in Turkey in 2018.

Last year, Rhian publicly criticised Oliver after claiming he had gone drinking with friends while she and George were unwell – although she later insisted their marriage was fine.

The couple have spoken openly about their struggle to become parents, with Rhian undergoing eight rounds of IVF after discovering she had a very low egg count.

Elsewhere in the podcast, Rhian recalled breaking down in tears when a doctor warned her that the egg being used in her final IVF attempt was very low grade.

“I was crying on the table,” she said. “I was like, so why are we putting it in?”

But the treatment worked, leaving Rhian stunned when she discovered she was pregnant.

She recalled: “I couldn’t believe it. I still had lots of pregnancy tests even when I was like six months pregnant because I was just like every day thinking, surely not.

“You kind of set yourself up for a fail so that when it actually becomes reality, you’re like, oh no, like what happens now?”

Rhian was asked if her OnlyFans earnings had helped fund IVF and she replied: “I do more things than OnlyFans, but it definitely helped.”

Despite the challenges of parenthood, Rhian said: “I love it. I mean, [George]’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me. But it’s so full on.”

A mum of nine-year-old conjoined twins Callie and Carter has spoken about her decision to not separate them yet.

The mum of a set of conjoined twins has shared her decision to not separate them.

Idaho mum Chelsea and her conjoined twin daughters Callie and Carter appeared on This Morning on Friday, 2 October.

They told hosts Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary about their life together, how they enjoyed playing together and how they learned to walk.

Chelsea also opened up about the experience of raising them, and what it was like for her after finding out that she was carrying conjoined twins. When Callie and Carter were born in 2017, they were initially given just 24 hours to live, but have defied medical odds.

She told Alison and Dermot: “I was 8 weeks 3 days when I found out I was having conjoined twins. The initial reaction from the doctors were just really like quiet at first, and once they came in, they told us our kids were stuck together.

“We were just shocked, we didn’t know what to think, we didn’t know how to feel. It was complete shock.” Talking about the first couple of days after giving birth, she went on: “The first 24 hours I wasn’t able to see them because I was recovering from my big surgery that I had with them.

“The first 24 hours were really hard because I didn’t see them until about 18 hours, I was a little worried that I didn’t have enough time with them. But they just kept thriving and kept going, and eventually, I was able to see them and we were able to tell them home.”

At the time, Chelsea and her partner were advised by doctors when the twins were just three days old to not separate them. She continued: “We had the big decision to make to see if we were going to separate them while they were little girls, so they didn’t remember but we decided to ultimately give them the option when they became older and understood the risks.”

Chelsea and her partner Nick previously appeared on This Morning when Callie and Carter were born, and addressed a possible separation in the future.

She said at the time: “I know definitely it will always be there. Whether it be a medical issue is my main worry or the point that the girls are like ‘we don’t want to be together anymore’.

“Of course we’ll have to see if there’s a medical issue that arises or if the girls do want to be separated we would consider a separation for their health. It’s their lives and they’re living it, we’re just aiding in the whole thing.”

This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV1 and ITVX.