Rebecca Adlington announces she is pregnant with her second child

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Olympic swimmer Rebecca Adlington is expecting her second child.

The athlete, 31, revealed the news on Instagram on Thursday, posting a sweet snap of herself and her boyfriend Andrew Parsons holding up an ultrasound.

Revealing she is 14 weeks pregnant, Rebecca appeared to suggest she conceived during the COVID-19 lockdown – while she was living with Andrew, her ex-husband Harry Needs, and their five-year-old daughter Summer. 

Summer joined her mother and Andrew in the photo, taken outside.

Rebecca looked glowing in a floral summer dress, cradling her bump. 

She captioned the snap: ‘Andy and I are excited to announce that we’re expecting. Summer can’t wait, she asks everyday to check my belly to see if it’s growing.

‘Going to be a long wait until the end of Feb!’ 

She also added an adorable snap of Summer, holding the sonogram, wearing a ‘Promoted To Big Sister’ top.

Rebecca and Harry, 28, married in 2014, welcoming Summer in 2015. They split, however, in 2015.

Harry subsequently came out as bisexual several weeks ago.

The pair are amicable, and are co-parenting Summer, even isolating together with property developer Andrew, and Harry’s best friend Michael Gunning, during lockdown.

Harry has addressed questions about whether Micheal, 26, and he are an item, but confirmed they are just friends, and that he is not dating anyone.

Michael – himself a competitive swimmer – also appeared on MTV’s The Bi Life in 2018.

In a recent interview with HELLO!, the Olympian said her daughter ‘loved’ spending rare quality time with her and Harry, gushing: ‘She gets the best of both worlds!’

The award-winning swimmer credited the coronavirus lockdown for forming a solid routine, with their little girl spending three days each at their respective homes.

Rebecca said: ‘She goes to Harry’s for three days, she comes to mine for three days. We have co-parented really well and found our routine. She gets the best of both worlds!’

The media personality said she felt ‘bad’ at the start of lockdown because Summer struggled with leaving school as a only child, but has since adapted to ‘spending quality time with mummy and daddy.’ 

The athlete explained: ‘Normally we’re such in a rush, we pick her up from school, take her to tennis or swimming, for the first time she’s spent real quality time with us. 

‘We’re not going anywhere, we just sit and chat and laugh or just dance, snuggle. We used to do bits of that at the weekend, but this is quality time.’ 

It was recently claimed she invited Harry to temporarily move into the home she shares with Andrew, so he can be closer to their daughter. 

A source told The Sun: ‘Their arrangement is very amicable and they’re doing what’s best for Summer.

‘They still get on really well despite their split, so why not? And Harry’s friend Michael is close with the others too.

‘They’re all really enjoying each other’s company and, what with their shared interest in swimming, it was a no-brainer.’

Harry came out as bisexual in June this year, told BBC News that he entered into a relationship with another man in 2019 and said he didn’t feel he could truly say he was bisexual until this happened.

He said: ‘I didn’t feel like I could honestly say I was bisexual until I had a relationship with a man.

‘I put myself out there as bisexual and went out on some dates with both women and men. I then found myself in a relationship with another man and that was last year.’

Harry did not reveal the identity of of the man or say whether they were still in a relationship.

Harry praised his former partner for her support when he revealed his bisexuality.   

He said: ‘I only told Becky in the last year. I only told all my friends and family in the last year but everyone’s reaction for me, especially Becky’s, was really really positive

‘It was just like “okay”, no-one really cared, I felt like. I really just don’t care about anyone else’s opinion on me. For me love is love, you should be with whoever makes you happy. 

Opening up about their marriage, he said: ‘I absolutely loved my marriage to Becky. It was amazing. I can’t honestly say we had many arguments.

‘And I guess that proves why we’re good friends and why we have such a good relationship now, co-parenting our daughter Summer.’

The star also spoke about the lack of role models for bisexual people when he was growing up, saying: ‘I always knew I was attracted to both sexes, during my teenage years I felt like being in society you could only identify as being gay or straight.

‘I didn’t feel there was many role models out there for bisexual people.

‘Girls used to show interest and that’s why I got involved in those relationships but maybe it was more openly acceptable in society that little bit more, maybe that would have been different.

‘I think it’s lack of education.’

Harry also hit back at preconceptions of bisexuality, saying he had been accused of ‘using bisexuality as a gateway or a stepping block to becoming gay.’

He said: ‘People almost don’t believe bisexual men and women out there exist. Being bisexual, I’m attracted to both. 

‘I’ve encountered “bisexual people are greedy”. Like you have to choose men or women.’         

Harry first discussed his bisexuality during a question and answer session on his Instagram Stories in June, when a fan questioned what his sexuality is – saying he has known since the age of 13.

He replied: ‘This is a question I’ve avoided everyday of my life so far, mainly because I strongly dislike labels despite not knowing a solution to avoid them. But if I had to answer I would people that I’ve always been bisexual #ahh.’   

Harry told fans that he has known about his sexuality since the age of 13, but never previously felt the need to publicly address it after meeting Rebecca, now 31, aged 17.

The father-of-one told fans that being bisexual wasn’t a factor in the breakdown of his marriage to the former Olympic swimming champion.  

Explaining why he picked Sunday to come out, Harry wrote: ‘Today is #fathersday #pridemonth and the last #mensmentalhealthawareness week. I couldn’t waste an opportunity as gold as that.’

Harry shared a collage of images of himself and the daughter he shares with Rebecca, Summer, five, alongside a lengthy caption about Father’s Day. 

‘Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there that embody the duty to inspire, teach, care and love their children the way they all children deserve too be loved.’ 

‘I can burst with excitement sometimes over how proud I am to be Summers dad, and I will cherish every single moment with this kid until my very last breath.   

‘For any dads out their who made mistakes along the way (because we all have), grow beyond it, fix it and never stop trying to be that inspiration, role model and super hero. 

Harry finished the post by giving a shout out to other bisexual dads, and wrote:

‘Never stop creating ourselves, we all deserve happier times. In honour of #pride Special shout out to all the bisexual dads out there, I see you, I hear you, I feel you.’

After sharing the news with his fans, Harry followed up by answering any other questions his followers had about his sexuality. 

One person queried whether he and Rebecca split because of it, and he said: ‘This is a question I already anticipation people asking, and I’m definitely happy to share the truth. @beckadlington and I, NEVER got divorced because of my sexuality.   

‘Becky is an absolutely incredible supportive friend, and has been from the start and always will be. 

‘I will also NEVER share the details as to why me and Becky went our separate ways, I hope you can respect that.’

Harry admitted he has been ‘content’ with his sexuality for years but said that it can feel ‘confusing’ to begin with, before adding he was there for anyone struggling.  

He added: ‘Once I was married to Becky, there was no need for me to publicly share my sexuality but I hope my journey can inspire many others to be true to themselves… I’m always here to anyone who wants to reach out.’

The father-of-one also revealed that his friends and family were previously aware of his sexuality, he wants to share with his Instagram followers in the hope of helping.   

‘I think sometimes you can overthink it, because it’s of such a personal and emotional importance… but my advice is to embrace it, share it and be your true self. Start a conversation. It’s as simple as that.’ 

Rebecca recently shed light on co-parenting Summer with ex Harry after isolating together with her boyfriend Andrew Parsons and Harry’s friend Michael Gunning.

In an interview with HELLO!, the Olympian said her daughter with her former husband has ‘loved’ spending rare quality time with them both, gushing: ‘She gets the best of both worlds!’

The swimmer credited the coronavirus lockdown for forming a solid routine, with their little girl spending three days each at their respective homes.  

Rebecca said: ‘She goes to Harry’s for three days, she comes to mine for three days. We have co-parented really well and found our routine. She gets the best of both worlds!’ The media personality said she felt ‘bad’ at the start of lockdown because Summer struggled with leaving school as a only child, but has since adapted to ‘spending quality time with mummy and daddy.’ 

The athlete explained: ‘Normally we’re such in a rush, we pick her up from school, take her to tennis or swimming, for the first time she’s spent real quality time with us. 

‘We’re not going anywhere, we just sit and chat and laugh or just dance, snuggle. We used to do bits of that at the weekend, but this is quality time.’ 

It was recently claimed she invited Harry to temporarily move into the home she shares with Andrew, so he can be closer to their daughter.

They split in 2016 after 18 months of marriage, and Rebecca went onto reveal she was dating the property manager in 2018.   

Sources told The Sun that Harry also brought along his close friend, competitive swimmer Michael, 26, to move into the house, and despite it seeming odd from the outside, they’ve been getting on well.

They said: ‘Their arrangement is very amicable and they’re doing what’s best for Summer.

‘They still get on really well despite their split, so why not? And Harry’s friend Michael is close with the others too.

‘They’re all really enjoying each other’s company and, what with their shared interest in swimming, it was a no-brainer.’

Harry shared a glimpse of the new domestic set-up in a selfie with Rebecca, their daughter, Andrew and Michael last month, writing: ‘Couldn’t wish to be stuck at home with a better bunch of people, so glad my bestie had a birthday to remember.’

Michael – himself a competitive swimmer – also appeared on MTV’s The Bi Life in 2018.