Star’s Wife Explains Upset Reaction After Learning Upcoming Baby’s Sex: Sophie Quickenden Addresses Her ‘Gender Disappointment’

Jake Quickenden’s pregnant wife Sophie is speaking out after she was left visibly “disappointed” by the gender of their second baby. In a lengthy message shared to Instagram, The X Factor star’s wife defended her vulnerable reaction to learning that she is expecting another boy – the couple share son Leo, 3, and Sophie is also mom to son Freddie, 10, from a previous relationship – admitting that she was “a little sad about not having all my dreams coming true.”

“Gender disappointed is something that isn’t ever spoken about so let’s talk about it,” Sophie began the message, which was shared alongside the gender reveal clip. “I know I received some negatives comments on our gender reveal video but please know I am incredibly grateful & blessed to be pregnant whether that be with a girl or a boy, especially as it didn’t happen quickly for us. And all I really wish for is a healthy baby.”

In the gender reveal video, Quickenden and his wife could be seen gathered around a cake with their boys. The expectant parents cut into a cake to reveal blue frosting. While Quickenden reacted to the reveal with excitement, telling their boys, “It’s a brother it’s a brother,” Sophie was left visibly disappointed, stating, “For God’s sake. I knew it. Ah man, where are all the girls at?”

She admitted in her follow-up post that “if you asked me what gender I would have asked for, it would have been a girl & that’s ok.” Sophie went on to explain that “I’ve got 2 amazing boys already & I had always dreamt of having a daughter. And as this will be my last baby, I was a little sad about not having all my dreams coming true.” She also clarified that she “hadn’t just wished to have a girl because I wanted to dress her up in pretty things, share clothes & go shopping together, but I wanted to be there for her prom, her wedding, her baby birth’s & to also go away on girlie trips away.”

Sophie concluded the post with a message to other parents who have experienced gender disappointment, writing, “If you have felt the same, just know your feelings are valid and it doesn’t make you a bad person or unappreciated of being pregnant. I can’t wait to raise another boy & know this is what’s meant for me.”

Sophie is not the only one to address the wave of backlash to the couple’s gender reveal clip, which was shared a little over a month after they first announced they were expecting, received. In a comment on the video, her husband came to her defense, telling others, “We are over the moon, as long as the little one is healthy and happy that’s all that matters, Soph would have liked a girl to back her up, but we are so used to boys and we couldn’t be happier.”

Quickenden rose to fame on The X Factor in 2012 and has gone on to appear onI’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! and win Dancing On Ice. He and Sophie married in 2022.