Rachel Riley and her husband Pasha Kovalev are basking in the glory of parenthood for the first time after welcoming their daughter into the world on Sunday. After sharing the sweet news on social media, Rachel revealed that she has already given her little girl a sweet nickname. The Countdown star shared a gorgeous close-up photo of the little tot resting in her dad's arms, simply captioning the snap: "Mave", followed by a series of double heart emojis.
'Mave' was born on Sunday - two weeks after her due date
Rachel and the former Strictly dancer announced their daughter's arrival on Wednesday morning, sharing a series of sweet images of their baby on Twitter. "Two weeks after we were expecting her this little one finally made an appearance! Miss Maven (one who understands) Aria (lioness) Riley Kovaleva arrived on Sunday morning weighing in at 7lbs 4," she captioned the images.
However, little Maven's arrival into the world was quite the surprise for the couple. "After keeping us waiting she came so fast we didn't get to hospital & was born in our bathroom with our amazing doula & wonderful St Mary’s midwives rushing over to be with us just in time," the new mum added. "She's absolutely perfect & Pasha & I are in newborn bliss. Couldn't be more in love."
© Photo: InstagramThis is the first child for Rachel and Pasha
MORE: Take a look at Pasha Kovalev and Rachel Riley's love story
The happy couple announced the news they were expecting a child in May. Rachel shared a sweet picture of herself cradling her baby bump as she posed in front of the famous letters board, which spelled out "R TINY MATE" - an anagram of the word 'maternity'. In the caption, she wrote: "Pash and I have a conundrum for you. You have till December to work it out! We're over the moon excited."
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It's been an exciting year for Rachel and Pasha; shortly after announcing their pregnancy, the lovebirds eloped to Las Vegas where they married in secret. They shared their happy news on Instagram, with Rachel writing: "Introducing the new Mr and Mrs Kovalev. We both said yes!" The two stars met when they were partnered in the 2013 series of the BBC contest. They started dating in 2014, after Rachel split from husband Jamie Gilbert the previous year.
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