Emily Atack has shared a rare glimpse into her and partner Alex Garner’s surprise pregnancy, five months after welcoming their baby Barney.
The Rivals actress, 34, revealed the couple discovered the news during their first holiday together in Italy last year and described it as the “most perfect day” of her life.
Emily rarely comments on her private life, but she recalled how on her last day in Palmero the lovebirds were discussing future plans for a family, when she realized she had actually missed her period.
she said The times: ‘(Alistair) joked: “Then let’s buy a pregnancy test.”‘ We did and I was pregnant. It was the happiest and most perfect day of my life. Soon he packed all his things into a van in Manchester where he lived and arrived at my house.’
Emily explained that she and Alex soon bought a property together and the day after they finished unpacking, their son was born.
Emily Atack has shared rare insight into her and partner Alex Garner’s surprise pregnancy, five months after welcoming their baby Barney.
The Rivals actress revealed the couple discovered the news during their first holiday together in Italy last year, describing it as the “most perfect day” of her life.
Emily rarely comments on her private life, but she recalled how on her last day in Palmero the lovebirds were discussing future family plans, when she realized she had missed her period.
She went on to explain how the handsome scientist is so proud of his career, something she has never experienced in a relationship, and admitted that he enthusiastically cuts out articles about her from newspapers and magazines to keep them.
Excited for Alex, Emily also teased their wedding plans: ‘I know Al will take care of Barney and me. I know he will eventually be the best father and the best husband. I’m happier than I ever thought I could be.’
In another candid admission, the actress revealed how, having just finished filming the Disney+ smash hit Rivals, she stood by her partner alongside her dying father and said the tragedy brought them closer as a couple.
‘We were on the deathbed together and then we left the room and hugged each other. We hugged for about 20 minutes and we knew. There was history, but at that moment something became clear. “This was love. This was real.”
Emily said previously hhello! magazine that she felt like she had “won the lottery” with her son Barney, adding that she couldn’t have gone through the “hard work” with anyone but Alex.
She told the publication: “I couldn’t ask for a better partner and Al is the only person on this earth I could have done this with.”
“It was a very difficult birth and after 12 hours of labor I ended up having an emergency c-section, but he was very calm.”
The former Inbetweeners star also described Alistair as her ‘literal rock’ and can’t imagine her life with anyone else.
Excited for her partner, Emily also announced her wedding plans: ‘I know Al will take care of Barney and me. I know he will eventually be the best father and the best husband.
In another candid admission, the actress revealed how she supported her partner by her dying father’s side and said the tragedy brought them closer as a couple.
He added: ‘All the clichés in life come true when you fall in love and have a baby. He is my rock, but really, literally, he is my rock; I couldn’t live life with anyone but him.
Emily had known Alistair for over 30 years when they struck up a relationship, and MailOnline revealed that he is actually her aunt’s stepson.
In her 2019 autobiography, Are We There Yet?, Emily gave clues as to why she ended up in a relationship with Alistair, 38, because their cousins ”understand each other on a deep level.”
She says: ‘Cousins are the best invention since the Game Boy. They are basically 50 percent brothers and 50 percent companions. You look the same but different…
“They understand each other on a very, very deep level and have a little more social etiquette towards them than their brother or sister…
‘It makes me sad for my friends who don’t have that relationship with their cousins, because mine were the best friends I’ve ever had. They remain my best friends to this day.
Emily had known Alistair for over 30 years when they entered into a relationship, and it was later revealed that he is her aunt’s stepson (pictured on Loose Women in October 2024).
Emily previously called her cousins ”the best invention since the Game Boy” and “50 per cent brother, 50 per cent mate” before it was revealed she was expecting a baby with her aunt’s stepson (pictured with Alistair).
Emily has a host of cousins, courtesy of the expanding families of her parents, actress Kate and singer dad Keith Atack, who split in 2007.
Alistair comes from his mother’s side, being the stepson of Kate’s sister Jane, who married her now deceased father Stephen Garner.
The former Celebrity Juice star kept fans updated on the ups and downs of her pregnancy and showed off her huge baby bump as she counted down the days until she gave birth.
But when the baby appeared, she gushed that “all her dreams had come true” with the arrival of the newborn.
She wrote on Instagram: ‘We have a beautiful son. Barney James Garner. All my dreams have come true.’