Ant McPartlin – who is hosting the Ant and Dec’s Limitless win on Saturday, January 4 – ended 2024 after a busy year, including welcoming his baby son Wilder.
The Geordie star recently welcomed a baby boy into the family – and a lot has happened since…
Ant McPartlin welcomes baby boy
In May 2024, Ant welcomed his first son, Wilder, into the family.
Wilder is his first child with wife Anne-Marie. He is already the stepfather to her two daughters, Daisy and Poppy.
Ant announced the exciting news on his Instagram. He shared a snap of himself cradling baby Wilder, along with a caption confessing he was a “mess”.
“Welcome to the family. Wilder Patrick Mcpartlin. Born, 14/05/24 at 8.54am,” he wrote.
“Baby is beautiful, Mummy’s a legend, Sisters are over the moon. Dad’s a mess!”
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Ant McPartlin’s tattoo drama
In his baby announcement, Ant showed off a new tattoo. The tattoo is of a big tree, with the names of Ant’s loved ones within the branches.
In the tree, the names of Anne-Marie, Poppy, and Daisy could be seen. Their pooches names, Milo and Bumble, could also be seen.
However, in the picture shared on Instagram, Hurley’s name couldn’t be seen.
Hurley is the dog that Ant and his ex-wife, Lisa Armstrong shared during their marriage. When they split, they decided to share custody of Hurley.
The fact that Hurley’s name couldn’t be seen in the tattoo on first glance led to some believing that Ant had deliberately left him out – which was described as a “kick in the teeth” for ex Lisa.
However, Ant cleared things up, revealing that Hurley’s name was actually on the tattoo, it just wasn’t visible at the time due to Wilder’s head covering it in the baby announcement photo.
Taking to Twitter, Ant wrote: “For all you dog lovers who asked why my beloved Hurley wasn’t on the family tree… he was!! He was just covered by our newborn. All my love, gratitude and heartfelt thanks, A.”
Ant McPartlin in ‘anxious bliss’ following birth of baby Wilder
Days after Wilder’s birth, Ant was spotted out with his son and wife.
Speaking to The Mirror, a body language expert analysed Ant’s behaviour while pushing Wilder in the pram.
“Ant pushes this baby buggy with all the intense care and concentration of a man test-driving a brand new top-of-the-range Porsche here. His grip is so firm that his knuckles seem to go white and he gazes down at his new son like a besotted and slightly anxious first-time dad,” Judi James told the publication.
“At one point he reaches back with one hand to clasp a much more relaxed and confident-looking Anne-Marie’s hand in his own as though suddenly aware of the responsibility and downright excitement and delight of having two humans and some sweet dogs to look after,” she then continued.
“With Anne-Marie holding his arm and the two dogs forging ahead, Ant seems keen to show this as an idyllic family unit, gazing into Anne-Marie’s eyes with a tense but wide smile.”
‘Sleepless nights’
In September, the TV icon opened up about the first year of fatherhood and how the initial several months had impacted him.
Ant gushed: “I’m really good, I’m really happy. There are lots of nappies and sleepless nights but it’s absolutely wonderful.”
“I’m loving it. It’s been the best year,” he added.
First Christmas with bundle of joy
Ant recently celebrated his first Christmas with baby son Wilder with wife Anne-Marie, whom he married in 2021.
It’s believed the I’m A Celebrity host spent the day at home in London after his jam-packed December Down Under for the ITV reality show. He also teamed up with his other presenting half Dec for Taste Mates, an online mini-series where they tried different festivities with celebrity pals.
The TV star kept a low-profile after being seen strolling around Wimbledon Common mid-December.
Although he was away for a long time, Ant made sure Anne-Marie had people around her to help with the baby.
An insider told OK! Magazine at the time: “Ant has made sure Anne Marie has a strong support system back home and he knows Wilder will be safe with his mum, he will just be missing them a lot.”
The Britain’s Got Talent final airs on Sunday, June 2 at 7.30pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
