EXCLUSIVE: Ex On The Beach’s Chloe Goodman reveals baby’s name and shares first photo

When we catch up with Chloe Goodman just days after giving birth, she admits she is in a blissful baby bubble. The star cuddles her newborn – who she’s named Isla Elizabeth Hall – and says she and QPR footballer fiancé Grant Hall have never been happier.

Speaking exclusively to Closer, she says, “We’re doing really well – we’re not getting much sleep at the moment, but we’re thrilled with our baby girl.”

It’s not been an easy journey to motherhood for Chloe, 26, but she maintains that has made celebrating her daughter’s arrival even more special. The star – who found fame on Ex On The Beach and Celebrity Big Brother – tragically suffered a miscarriage at the age of 23, with her then-partner Jordan Clarke.

Two years later, she experienced more emotional upheaval when doctors discovered she had high-grade abnormal cells following a routine smear, which could have led to cervical cancer if left untreated.

Following a biopsy, she had an operation in July 2018 to remove more than half of her cervix, which doctors warned put her at higher risk of miscarriage or having a premature birth.

When she discovered she was expecting last year, she was told she would be not able to have a successful pregnancy unless she had a cervical stitch in her second trimester to help strengthen the cervix and prolong her pregnancy.

“It’s been an uphill battle, but I feel so lucky,” she admits. “For the first three months, I was worried about acknowledging the pregnancy in case I lost her, then at 17 weeks, I was in theatre having a stitch put in to keep her inside. I had so many battles to get to this stage, so the moment when she first cried was incredible. I was thinking, ‘Yes, we’ve done it, she’s fine’.”

After such a long road, Chloe says she was blessed with an “incredible labour” – although it wasn’t without drama.

“My birth experience was quite funny,” she laughs. “I started to have regular contractions which lasted all night and all day the next day, so I thought, ‘OK, this is definitely labour.’

“We went to hospital and I was in the car listening to whale music and breathing through the contractions, then when we got to the hospital they completely stopped.

"I was so embarrassed – they checked me and I wasn’t even dilated one bit! My fiancé was laughing at me all the way home, calling me ‘zero centimetre Chlo’. There I was, listening to whale music, and I wasn’t even close!”

But when labour really did start, it came thick and fast. “A few days later, my waters broke at 4am, contractions began by lunchtime, I was in hospital by 4.30pm and she was here by 8pm,” she explains.

“I was very lucky – I had the most amazing labour. But I had the worst anxiety leading up to the birth. I’d heard so many negative labour stories and I was worried about the situation with the coronavirus pandemic.”

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Chloe’s birth was certainly unusual, due to the pandemic. The midwife was wearing protective clothing and, while Grant was allowed in the delivery room for the labour and birth, he was sent home two hours after their daughter was born.

“I stayed in overnight and all the next day and it helped me establish breastfeeding and have some support,” Chloe explains. “I wasn’t nervous about Grant leaving – the midwives were great and it meant he was well rested to pick us up the next day.”

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Since then, the couple have been settling into life with a new baby.

“We both got about an hour’s sleep the first night,” she laughs. “We definitely had that moment of thinking, ‘Can we do this? Will we cope?’ But even though we are still awake a lot in the night, we have got to know her different cries. It’s getting easier. I know it’s been awful for some people, but in some ways lockdown has been nice for us because we’ve had longer in the baby bubble.”

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Meanwhile, Chloe has had plenty of support from her family – her younger sister Amelia has moved in with her, and her dad lives just next door.

She says, “I met Grant because he bought the house next door to my dad and his partner, and I went to his housewarming party. My dad jokes about putting a door in and living as one big household! It’s been amazing to have their support.”

“But it has been hard as some of my family haven’t been able to meet her properly. My dad lives next door, so he’s seen her over the garden fence, but my grandparents are waiting on the next announcement before meeting her. They are upset, but we know it’s not the be all and end all. People are dying of COVID-19, so the lockdown rules are more important than meeting her. They will eventually. They have met her on FaceTime.”

This time has been made extra special for Chloe, as her older sister Lauryn, 29, gave birth two weeks before her. Lauryn welcomed a baby with Man City star Kyle Walker at the end of April, though she has not revealed the name or gender yet.

And Chloe says that having her sister experience motherhood at the same time has been amazing.

“It’s been an incredible journey for us both. We were weeks apart!” she smiles. “I believe that everything happens for a reason. Our pregnancies were the biggest blessing. I think the babies will be as close as siblings growing up. It’s perfect!”

Read even more celeb exclusives in this week's Closer magazine -out now.

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