Their love story captured the hearts of fans, but last week TOWIE's Kate Ferdinand and her hubby Rio revealed that they’ve had to go the “yards” to make it to where they are today.
During an episode for their podcast, Blended, Rio, 44, said, “I was thinking about the kids. I was thinking about how difficult it was at the beginning.
“A lot of yards have been had over this time. It’s been good.”
Kate, 31, also admitted the couple had “prayed” for a happy family life with Rio’s three eldest children – Lorenz, 16, Tate, 14, and Tia, 11 – whose mum Rebecca Ellison tragically died of cancer in 2015, aged 34.
She added, “Sometimes I just sit back, even with Cree here now, and you watch them all play and us all laughing and being happy and you just think, ‘Wow, can’t believe we’re here’.
“Because you used to pray for days like this and think, ‘Are they ever going to come? Is all this worth it?’ Sometimes we would get in bed and say, ‘Is this worth it? Do we give up?’”
In an emotional interview following their wedding, Kate, who became a stepmum of three aged 26, revealed, “I’ve had lots of counselling. I felt like I was taking on a lot of their grief. I wouldn’t know what to do when they were crying about their mum.”
After getting married in 2019 and welcoming their two-year-old son Cree in 2020, Kate and Rio have now been faced with their next family hurdle, as their eldest son Lorenz has now moved out.
The teen has followed in his dad’s footsteps to play football for Brighton and Hove Albion, and is temporarily living with another family.
Admitting she had been crying, Kate said, “I was devastated when he moved out…We still see him twice a week but I miss him so much and that’s taken a lot of getting used to."
The couple are also set to welcome another addition to their family, after revealing in January that they are expecting a daughter later this year.