Exclusive Interview: Ola & James Jordan
Celebrity Secrets caught up with the professional dancers to find out about their Christmas plans and Ola’s pregnancy
Interview Claire Muffett-Reece
This is the last Christmas before you get to meet your baby boy or girl. What are your plans?
J ‘All of my family are going away, because my gran died at my mum’s house two years ago on Christmas Day.’
O ‘They’re all going away. My mum and dad are not going to come over either this year, because we only have one day off from our panto in Redhill.’
J ‘As Ola’s Polish we either celebrate a Polish Christmas or an English Christmas! In Poland Christmas Eve is more important, serving fish instead of meat and giving out presents in the evening.’
Have you got any Christmas traditions you like to do?
J ‘We watch films and eat and drink as much as we want! Ola won’t be drinking this year, of course.’
What are you going to do for new year?
J ‘We’ve got panto on New Year’s Eve, but then we’re going to go from there to a friend’s to see in midnight.’
O ‘But obviously it’s not going to be a wild one this year, because I’ll be there!’
How are you both feeling now Ola’s five months’ pregnant?
O ‘ Happy and excited, but I can’t say I’m ever going to feel relaxed.’
J ‘I’m the same. I’m a worrier anyway so I don’t think we will be fully relaxed until our baby is in our arms.’
O ‘It’s probably not a good thing, because you want to be chilled during pregnancy! In some ways I am, but I still worry.’
You tried to conceive naturally for two years. Who turned to the other and said, “Shall we try IVF?”?
J ‘I would say it was Ola who brought it up…
O ‘And I would say it was James! I remember being frustrated because I wasn’t falling pregnant, so James said we should chat to the doctor.’
J ‘I wanted to keep things positive, so said we should find someone to help us. Ola mentioned considering IVF, and that was it. I was on it and wanted to organise things very quickly.’
Did you think having a family might never happen?
O ‘I was definitely worried. Don’t get me wrong, we’ve got a lovely life, but there was always something missing. I was getting to the stage where I was trying to come to terms with it. I imagined we’d travel and see the world instead.’
J ‘I was a lot more positive that it was going to work.’
Why did you decide to reveal your fertility struggle in a magazine?
J ‘So many people feel ashamed that they can’t get pregnant, so we wanted to be open to help others. It also stopped journalists asking when we were going to have children.’
O ‘When we said we were trying IVF, it was a huge relief. Everyone stopped asking – even our friends and family.’
J ‘When we told my mum and dad, they were crying their eyes out, as they didn’t realise what we’d been going through.’
How does IVF mentally affect you?
O ‘It’s all the waiting. You worry about waiting for the phone to ring, when the clinic tell you if any embryos have survived. Since we spoke about IVF a lot of people have contacted me saying, “we’re going for the seventh time,” which must be unbelievably hard.’
And what were the physical effects?
O ‘Your ovaries are really swollen from being stimulated and you’re injecting yourself every day. People thought I was pregnant already because I was bloated.’
Was counselling offered to help you with the whole process?
O ‘There is counselling, which you can have before or after, but we chose not to.’
J ‘We’re both quite strong people and didn’t feel we needed it. Different people react to things differently, though.’
O ‘I didn’t really want to talk to a stranger about it, but I get that many people do.’
Do you wish you’d tried for a family when you got married back in 2003?
O ‘At the time we wanted to focus on our careers. We were given so many opportunities and we weren’t ready.’
J ‘We were enjoying that part of our life. We had our careers first and now we’re having children, while most people will have children and then build their careers.’
Let’s go back to when you found out Ola was pregnant. Did you have any inkling that the IVF had worked?
O ‘It’s different with IVF, because two weeks after the procedure you have to do a pregnancy test.’
J ‘But you ended up taking a test after eight days…’
O ‘I had a funny feeling in my tummy and I thought I’d take one. James was out playing golf, so I decided not to tell him in case it was negative.’
J ‘When I got in she couldn’t even talk – she just handed over the test and started crying.’
You told fans you suffered from morning sickness. Now that’s gone how are you feeling?
O ‘Now I have massive heartburn – it’s horrible! From about four o’clock in the afternoon until I go to bed I’m suffering. I’ve also got a bad back.’
How are you both finding Ola’s changing shape? Being a dancer all your life it must be strange to have no control over what your body’s doing…
O ‘I’m embracing the pregnancy and am not denying myself anything. Having said that of course I look in the mirror and find the changes a little hard. I’m so big already – and my boobs are massive!’
J ‘They’re humongous. It’s great!’
Have you discussed names yet?
O ‘We have – and what we’ve both agreed is we like traditional choices.’
J ‘We definitely won’t call our kid anything whacky. I also know if we have a girl her first name won’t begin with “B”. Can you imagine her growing up with “BJ” as her initials?’
What will happen when it comes to changing nappies and night feeds?
J ‘I’ll be fine with that. Having said that I’ve got a really weak stomach!’
O ‘He does have a weak stomach.’
J ‘I’d like to think that I can do it, especially the getting up in the middle of the night. I expect to do my bit.’
O ‘He’s definitely going to be a hands-on dad.’
You’ve told us you don’t agree in a child being raised as gender neutral. Why?
J ‘You can’t say men and women are the same. To say that you’re going to bring up your baby gender neutral is more, in my opinion, saying things you think people want to hear. Everyone’s on an agenda nowadays.’
O ‘If we have a boy and it turns out to be gay or a girl and it turns out to be lesbian, or they want to transition, that’s their decision to make.’
So what are you most looking forward to about this time next year?
O ‘Enjoying Christmas in our home with our little boy or girl and all our family. They’ll be at the age where they can eat Christmas dinner with us – I can’t wait!’
J ‘It’s going to be amazing. We’re very family-oriented. For me that’s the most important thing in my life.’
O ‘We’ll be sitting there giving out presents and just enjoying the chaos. Obviously, I’m going to hate the mess, but as parents we’re just going to have to get used to it!’
Photography James Rudland jamesaugustusphotography.com Art direction Claire Muffett-Reece instagram.com/mrscreece Hair and make-up Alice Theobald using Pixi makeup Pietro Simone skincare and L’ANZA haircare joygoodman.com Styling Ellis Ranson styled-ellisranson.co.uk Videography Joe Murphy instagram.com/hawkmurphy Tree styling Anya Banks anyabankschristmasdecorator.co.uk Turkey Kelly Bronze kellybronze.co.uk Roast potatoes, parsnips, stuffing balls and Yorkshire puddings Aunt Bessie’s auntbessies.co.uk Christmas pudding Cole’s Puddings colespuddings.com Mince pies Walkers walkersshortbread.com Christmas cards and wrapping paper Clintons clintonsretail.com Crew catering Itsu itsu.com Location House Shoot Factory shootfactory.co.uk
Book tickets to see Ola and James in pantomime at http://www.harlequintheatre.co.uk/whats-on/on-stage/jack-and-the-beanstalk/
Read Ola & Jordan’s full interview in the Christmas issue of Celebrity Secrets, out now in OK! magazine bumper packs for one week only!
