After opening up about her hopes of heading down the aisle with Mr Right, Ferne McCann’s dream became a reality last week as she announced her engagement to boyfriend-of-six-months Lorri Haines.
And now Ferne – who is mum to four-year-old daughter Sunday with prison inmate Arthur Collins – has also said she’d love to expand her brood. She’s told pals she’s desperate to give Sunday a sibling and that they wouldn’t be surprised if a new baby came before a wedding. Just last year she admitted her priority would be to “fall in love and make a family”.
The source says, “Ferne is so broody for baby number two and has been for ages. But now she’s found her Mr Right and they’re engaged, she doesn’t want to hang around. Sunday is going to be five in November and she never wanted a big age gap between her children. She’s seen how good Lorri is with his son [from a previous relationship] and she can’t wait to have kids with him.
“Having another baby is her top priority and with her best pal Billie Faiers expecting baby number three, Ferne would love to be pregnant at the same time so they could have babies of a similar age.
“She’s the happiest she’s ever been and was so thrilled when Lorri proposed. It wasn’t a huge surprise as they had discussed getting married quite early on, but now she’s so excited about planning her dream wedding. She’s already got a lot of ideas. After all she’s been through, she can’t believe she’s actually getting her happy ending.”
The former TOWIE star, 31 – who was on holiday in France when Lorri, 30, proposed – showed off her beautiful engagement ring on Instagram, captioning a loved-up picture of her and Lorri kissing with, “So happily ever afters do exist.” Meanwhile, Lorri posted a lengthy post dedicated to his “soulmate”.
Their famous friends were quick to congratulate them, with fellow reality star Mario Falcone commenting “Congratulations Fernita!” and Love Island’s Faye Winter writing, “You both deserve the world.” Other well wishes came from Vicky Pattison, Siannise Fudge, and a very happy James “Arg” Argent, who shared a screenshot of smitten Ferne along with the caption “You deserve this more than anyone.”
Mum-of-one Ferne began dating Dubai-based Lorri in February, after he messaged her on social media asking her for a date, and the pair have been inseparable ever since, with Lorri spending more time in the UK and featuring heavily on Ferne’s reality show, First Time Mum.
And Ferne opened up pretty early on about how she believed Lorri – who has a young son from a previous relationship – is The One, saying she could see herself marrying him. She told Closer in March, “I’m thinking about marriage now because I have met someone that I would genuinely marry.”
Ferne’s happy-ever-after comes following years of rocky romances. After her six-year relationship with Charlie Sims played out on TOWIE in 2014, she hit headlines in 2017 when her then-boyfriend Arthur Collins – Sunday’s father– was the subject of a nationwide manhunt, after orchestrating an acid attack in a London nightclub. He was later sentenced to 20 years in prison.
She then dated city trader Albie Gibbs for a few months, before moving on with club promoter Jack Padgett. They split late last year due to being “on different paths”.
Earlier this year, Ferne – who tried on wedding dresses on her reality show in 2020 when she had just started dating Albie – told Closer that she’d already planned her wedding, despite not yet getting engaged. She said she’d love to get married abroad – like best pal Billie, who tied the knot in a lavish Maldives ceremony – saying, “I am a summer baby, so my wedding would definitely be abroad, like Billie.”
A few months later, she admitted discussing what her wedding to Lorri would be like, saying, “We want an amazing DJ with bongos and a saxophonist. Something just so unconventional.”
Now the source says, “She’s still got her heart set on a wedding abroad, under the sun, possibly on the beach surrounded by her closest family and friends. It’ll have a very laidback vibe to it but she definitely won’t be doing things by halves – she wants the best of the best. Ferne’s not finalised a wedding date – especially if they have a baby before – but she can’t help getting excited about such a monumental occasion.”
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