The newlyweds say they were ‘over the moon’ when they found out they were expecting
The actress is almost four months pregnant (Image: OK!/Stacey Clarke)
Emmerdale’s Isabel Hodgins has announce she is expecting her first child months after her ‘perfect’ wedding in Manchester. The actress, 31, who has played Victoria Sugden in the ITV soap since 2006, is now almost four months into her pregnancy.
Less than three months ago, Isabel and her husband Adam Whitehead, 28, tied the knot at a fairy-tale wedding at Castlefield Rooms in the city centre.
The elegant celebration was attended by Isabel’s Emmerdale co-stars Danny Miller, Mark Jordon, Laura Norton, Jeff Hordley and Zoë Henry.
Speaking exclusively to OK!, Isabel said: “It’s something that we wanted to happen, but now it actually has, it’s weird… it’s still sinking in!.”
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When asked how the actress, who has portrayed Victoria since she was 12 years old, revealed the wonderful news to her husband, she chuckles: “He actually told me!”.
“Isabel was overdue by a few days, so she took a test. But then, she just chucked it on the floor and it was upside down just lying there,” says Adam.
“I didn’t want to look at it, as I felt it would make time go slower to stare. But Mr Impatient comes along to look at it and sees that it’s positive,” Isabel says.
“But I thought, ‘Surely we can’t trust it because it’s been upside down, so it might have impacted the result.’ We rushed to Boots to buy three more, and they were all positive too, so we thought it must be right.”
Isabel announced her pregnancy three months after her wedding (Image: OK!/Stacey Clarke)
Adam, who works as a PE teacher, met Isabel in the gym, and the pair have been together for three years.
Although they were trying to start a family, the couple – who are on cloud nine having just had a look at their little one during a baby scan – admit it has all happened faster than they could have imagined.
“It’s exciting but also scary, because it has happened so fast and it’s our first time,” explains Isabel. “Originally, we booked a wedding for 2026, but then I realised I didn’t want to wait that long to start a family.
“But I also wanted to be married first, so I kept changing the goal posts, but this was always the plan.”
It’s not been the easiest first trimester for Isabel, who admits she’s feeling “pretty knackered”.
“It’s hard to know how to feel because you’re so excited, but also, for me there’s been so much fatigue. So I’m like, ‘I’m so happy but please let me nap,” she admits.
“I didn’t know what to expect, but I think it has been tougher than I thought because it’s been a bit of a roller-coaster. But luckily, I haven’t been very sick, so that’s a plus.
“I’ve been cooking the tea and helping out around the house as much as I can,” Adam confirms, with Isabel interjecting, “And dealing with my mood swings,” as Adam chuckles, “Yeah, that’s been tough.”
Isabel Hodgins and Adam Whitehead with their baby scan (Image: OK!/Stacey Clarke)
The couple are already busily designing their little one’s nursery, opting for a neutral colour scheme as they’ve chosen not to discover the baby’s gender until birth.
“Adam is going to believe for nine months that it’s a boy,” Isabel teases, stating she’d be content with either a boy or girl, but also imagines herself with a son.
When it comes to selecting the baby’s name, Isabel and Adam joked that they’re going to leave that decision to their baby.
“We’ve been struggling with names, particularly girls’ names. We come up with one and then we’re like, ‘No, our child wouldn’t suit that,’ and start overthinking it,” Adam admits.
“I was chatting to someone and they had three names for a boy and they asked the baby the names – on a particular name the baby smiled and they were like, ‘There you go, he named himself,” Isabel giggles.
Adam and Isabel’s love story has a unique twist, as they discovered after starting their relationship that they were born in the same hospital and attended the same school.
However, due to a three-year age difference, their paths never crossed until later in life.
Unfortunately, their baby won’t share the same birthplace as them, as the hospital no longer houses a maternity ward. Despite this, Isabel describes the pregnancy as a “full circle” moment.
“It’s a weird story to tell people, the fact that we went to all these places and never knew each other until further down the line. It’s something nice to tell the kids,” she says with a smile.
The couple’s family and friends weren’t taken aback by their pregnancy announcement. “My mum just cried straight away, my parents both got emotional and gave me a hug,” Adam shares.
“Yeah, my parents were really cute, too. It wasn’t a surprise because everyone knew we wanted kids, so it was more about when it would happen,” Isabel adds.
Adam is clearly thrilled at the prospect of becoming a father and believes Isabel is a natural when it comes to children. “You’re just a natural with kids,” he tells her.
“You just seem to gravitate to them and you want to mother them – even when they’re not yours!”.
Isabel Hodgins is pregnant with her first child(Image: OK!/Stacey Clarke)
“For me, I knew I wanted kids at some point but it wasn’t until I met Isabel that I knew it would happen soon. Because I’m a teacher, I’m quite used to being around them and so I think it’ll come quite naturally. Well, I’m hoping one baby is easier than 750 teenagers!” he said.
Adam and Isabel admitted that while they’re not overly concerned about their parenting skills, the thought of losing their current routine does make them slightly apprehensive.
The pair are avid gym-goers and both are career-driven, so transitioning into parenthood will certainly be a shift in pace for them.
Isabel is ready to take a break from Emmerdale for maternity leave, although she has mixed emotions about it.
“I will miss it. I love the people there, but I’ve worked there for 19 years, so I feel like I’ve done what I’ve wanted to do and been selfish with my career. Now, it’s time to devote my life to being a mum, that feels right to me. But there’s still FaceTime, so they won’t forget me,” she said.
Asked what they’re most excited about, Isabel said: “I think, seeing what we’ve created and meeting this little person.”
“Creating them into hopefully a respectable little person,” adds Adam, with Isabel chiming in, “Fingers crossed!”.
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