Made In Chelsea’s Ollie and Gareth Locke-Locke shared thrilling news with fans last week that following years of heartache, they’d finally become dads to twins Apollo and Cosima, after their surrogate, Rebecca Ward, went into early labour.
The couple were clearly delighted with their new roles, revealing in an interview, “The babies are here – this is what we’ve been waiting for. It’s this wonderful moment when we know that we’re the fathers we always wanted to be.”
But Ollie, 36, and Gareth, 35 – who started dating in 2018, following 10 years of friendship and tied the knot in 2020 – have also been open about how difficult the journey has been, adding that the newborns spent weeks in intensive care after being born seven weeks early.
The couple revealed, “Our little monkeys decided to be really strong. They wanted to come out early because they felt they were ready, and they were absolutely amazing. They needed a bit of help, but not as much as a lot of premature babies.”
And insiders now say that Ollie – who has appeared in Made In Chelsea on and off for 12 years after joining the show for the very first series in 2011 – wants to share their story in a documentary.
A source tells Closer, “Ollie and Gareth are over the moon and loving fatherhood. It’s been an incredibly difficult journey to get here and Ollie is determined to share everything that he and Gareth have endured together through a TV series.
“They’ve been sharing much of it already on their YouTube and they have an army of loyal fans, but Ollie thinks they should be reaching a much wider audience. Shows like The Mummy Diaries have had huge success, and they’ve already been in talks with major channels about it including the BBC. There’s been more than enough drama, tears and very scary situations, but they feel as though they are coming out the other side and they’d love to turn it all into a positive.”
Rebecca – who contacted Ollie and Gareth via Instagram after watching their struggle – is their second surrogate. Three years ago, the reality stars used a different surrogate, but following two miscarriages after embryo transfers in Mexico and Cyprus, she pulled out.
The process was well-documented on Made In Chelsea, and viewers witnessed the emotional ups and downs as Ollie and Gareth kept close friends and co-stars Sophie Hermann and Olivia Bentley – both of whom will serve as unofficial godmothers to Apollo and Cosima – up to date.
Having found Rebecca, the pair opted for IVF, but sadly their first attempt resulted in a third miscarriage. Eventually however, in February 2023, they were able to announce that things had finally worked out for them and that they were expecting twins.
Sources also reveal that as well as the whole surrogacy process, Ollie wants to shine a light on the struggles of same-sex couples becoming parents.
“What they’ve been through as a couple is really ground-breaking,” the source reveals.
“There’s a lot of interest in what gay couples go through when they have children, whether it’s via surrogacy or another option.
“They want to contribute to de-stigmatising same-sex couples starting families and share their experiences in a positive way to make a change in the world.
“Sadly there’s already been some negativity surrounding the names of their twins with trolls shaming them online and saying other unkind things, but Ollie is determined not to let any of that get him down and he wants to be a shining example of a modern parent.”