Exclusive:
New parents Michelle Keegan and husband Mark Wright can make the most of the granny flat at their £3.5million Essex mansion, with offers of help from family members
Mum’s the word for Michelle Keegan, as the star leans on beloved mother Jackie after welcoming her first child.
Our Girl and Fool Me One star Michelle and husband Mark Wright this week announced the arrival of their baby daughter Palma Elizabeth, who was born on March 6. As the actress adjusts to mum-life, insiders say Jackie, 63, has been a pillar of support. A frequent visitor to Michelle and Mark’s £3.5million Essex mansion, the couple even built a special ‘granny flat’ when they renovated their home, where she can stay whenever she likes and for long periods. Jackie often stays at Michelle’s home, posting pictures from the house at Christmas and January as she looked out over their expansive garden and pool.
A source said she’s met Palma and has been supporting Michelle since the birth. “Jackie is over the moon to be a grandma,” they said. “Palma is her first grandchild and she is besotted, as are the whole family. She’s so proud of Michelle.”
“I’m am so excited,” Jackie wrote on Instagram in December, when people started calling her Grandma. Jackie – who also has son Andrew – and Michelle have a close relationship. “My mum, my best friend & hands down THE funniest human on the planet,” Michelle wore as she paid tribute to her.
Michelle once revealed how she was constantly asked by her mum when she and her husband Mark would have children. Speaking to Jonathan Ross in 2019, she said: “Everyone always asks that question. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not getting any younger. My mum is on it as well. No plans yet, but we definitely do want children in the future.”
Despite their bond, the pair are rarely seen together. Michelle opened up about keeping her mum out of the limelight after she was subjected to nasty comments. Speaking to Fearne Cotton on her Happy Place podcast, she talked about the downside of fame and protecting her loved ones. “I remember once I stepped out of a restaurant with my mum and we got pictured and I remember my mum reading the article and she read the comments”, the actress recalled. “That really affected my mum, really bad. Now she won’t walk out of restaurants with me, because of that reason.”
Michelle and Mark will have no shortage of hands for little Palma, with both of them enjoying close relationships with their families. Mark’s mum Carol spoke of her joy at getting another grandchild, posting: “We are in love with you beautiful baby girl. Thank you Michelle and Mark for this wonder gift.”
To accommodate both sets of parents, the couple built a designer granny flat in the grounds of their Essex mansion. Plans submitted at the time showed it would boast an ensuite bedroom, a cloakroom, kitchen, dining area and sitting area. At 60 sq ft, it’s bigger than the average London flat. Former TOWIE star Mark and ex Coronation Street actress Michelle purchased the original property together for £1.3million in October 2019 and later demolished the four-bedroom farmhouse onsite for a lavish new five-bedroom mansion complete with bar, gym, kids’ playroom, and outdoor swimming pool.
Michelle and Mark are said to be in a “perfect love bubble” with their new baby daughter Palma and have “shut up shop and cleared the diary”. The baby – named after the Majorcan capital they love holidaying – was born a week ago, and they told only the immediate family circle. A source said: “They wanted to keep the news very private and bask in the glory of a new-born without any distractions without the world knowing. They are in a perfect love bubble with no external noises, and it’s been total and utter bliss.”
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