Hollyoaks star Kieron Richardson and husband Carl become dads to twins Chase and Phoebe Rae via surrogate after IVF battle
HOLLYOAKS star Kieron Richardson and his husband Carl Hyland have become dads to twins via a surrogate following a heart-breaking IVF battle.
Kieron took to Twitter to announce the happy news, sharing a picture of the babies' hospital bracelets.
He wrote: "Welcome Chase and Phoebe Rae x" and the tags revealed the twins were born on May 22 around 6pm.
Kieron and Carl, who married in 2015, announced they were expecting twins last December.
The couple previously had four failed attempts at IVF but happily revealed they were expecting a boy and a girl via surrogate.
Speaking to Digital Spy, the actor explained: “We wanted to wait to see whether we needed to buy pink or blue, but now we know we can buy both colours, as we’re having our very own Prince and Princess.”
Kieron, who is best known for playing Ste Hay on the Channel 4 soap, told The Mirror last year about their long battle to have a baby.
Most Read in Tv & Showbiz
He said: “We were hoping to have a baby this year.
“Unfortunately, like anyone who is trying for a baby through IVF – whether they are gay couples or not – it is a lottery.The statistics when we first started it were a 70% success rate.
“We have tried it four times, with the same surrogate mum, and we have fallen into that 30% bracket of it not working.”
He added: “But we have not given up the fight and are still continuing. We are going to keep trying until it is successful.”
And speaking last year on This Morning about his dream of starting a family, he said: "We really want kids.
"We haven't got a number of children we want in mind. One would be amazing but I know that it's not always possible so we are hoping for one and fingers crossed.
"To be honest one is enough. And if that fails then we will definitely do adoption."
Kieron and Carl tied the knot two years ago in a lavish ceremony in the Peak District.
The couple, who announced their engagement in 2014 after seven years together, were surrounded by Kieron’s Hollyoaks co-stars.
They had 12 bridesmaids – who all wore wedding dresses for the occasion - including Stephanie Davis, Jennifer Metcalfe and Gemma Merna.
Got a story? email digishowbiz@the-sun.co.uk or call us direct on 02077824220