Made in Chelsea's Ollie Locke and partner reveal unusual baby names they've given their twins
Made In Chelsea star Ollie Locke and his husband Gareth have announced they have become fathers to twins, a boy and a girl.
"Guys, the news we've been wanting to tell you for so many years – we are finally dads!" said Ollie in an Instagram video.
Following a long journey to parenthood, which took over three years and was openly documented, the couple have shared their joy at finally becoming new fathers.
In a YouTube video, shared on Sunday Ollie, 36, said: "The babies were born six weeks ago. It has been a scary time, they have been in neonatal intensive care for quite a long time."
Gareth, 34, went on to say: "It was something we didn’t want to share until we had them safe, back home with us and all part of the family."
He later added: "It is down to the amazing NHS team in the neonatal units we’ve been in that means we’ve got the kids home now and the real daddying is about to begin."
As well as documenting their journey to the hospital to pick up their children the couple also revealed the twins' names for the first time: Apollo and Cosima.
Read more: Ollie Locke and husband Gareth reveal twins' names (Bang Showbiz, 1-min read)
"We pick weird names don't we?" Gareth joked. "Apollo is the coolest name," Ollie countered. "And Cosima, I've only ever met beautiful lovely Cosimas."
"We've got into the habit of calling her Cosy or Cossie," Gareth added.
In an interview with Hello! magazine the new dads shared the twins full names, Apollo Magnus Obi and Cosima Emily Bex, and elaborated further about the meanings behind them.
"I always wanted to have a son and call him Apollo," says Gareth, adding: "My dad’s nickname for my mum [Margaret] is Maggie, so Magnus is the male version."
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The couple's daughter’s name, meanwhile, means "chaos and beauty" with her middle names paying tribute to two special people: Ollie’s close friend Emily Hartridge, a YouTuber who passed away in 2019, and the couple’s surrogate, Bex Ward, who gave birth to the twins on 8 July.
"We hadn't told Bex we were naming the baby after her, so Ollie took her to the registry office after they were born and surprised her," says Gareth.
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As well as introducing the twins, the YouTube clip also showed the twins’ first “at home nappy change” as well as the couple’s multiple dogs getting used to the new arrivals.
Gareth said: "Everyone at the hospital has been so amazing but it’s so much nicer being here, being at home."
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The couple married in 2020 in front of 13 guests with 48 hours’ notice, including bridesmaids Binky Felstead and Olivia Bentley, who have both starred in Made In Chelsea.
Ollie said: "I remember when Binky’s daughter was this old and I told her she looked like Pauline Quirke from Birds Of A Feather, she didn’t speak to me for two months."
Meanwhile, Bentley posted a picture on Instagram cradling Apollo, as she announced she has been chosen as his godmother.
"Welcome to the world my beautiful godson Apollo Magnus Obi Locke-Locke and little Cosima, you are just wonderful and I can’t wait to watch you grow up and go on a million adventures with you," she said.
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Having documented their journey to becoming dads, the couple are also planning to keep fans updated on their new lives as parents through their YouTube series Our Daddy Diaries.
Ollie said: "People see our lives through the beautiful gloss of [Made in] Chelsea, with the lovely music behind. This is stuff like us getting up in the middle of the night or pulling our hair out because the nappies haven’t arrived. It’s our lives, but very raw."
Additional reporting PA.
