Vicky Pattison opens up to Closer about starting a family with husband Ercan Ramadan, married life and future career goals
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She’s long been vocal about her desire to become a mother, but Vicky Pattison has also been honest about her apprehensions when it comes to starting a family. At age 35, she took her fertility into her own hands and underwent an egg-freezing procedure – which she documented on her Instagram account – after admitting she and now-husband Ercan Ramadan weren’t ready to be parents yet.
Now, two years into married life and happily settled with their fur babies – Max and Milo – in Brentwood, Essex, Vicky and Ercan are having serious conversations about expanding their family. And fans will get to watch it all unfold in the new two-part E4 series, Maybe, baby?
‘The show is a look at our newlywed life and what this next chapter looks like for us. Whether that means we’re going to grow our family, become parents, what avenue we’re going to choose to explore, or whether we’re just content as we are,’ Vicky, 38, explains to Closer.
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Vicky has opened up about having kids © Shane Anthony Sinclair/BAFTA/Getty Images for BAFTA
One of the main focuses of the programme is alternative routes to becoming a parent, including adoption, surrogacy and fostering. Vicky says it was important to consider all options when discussing fertility with Ercan, 32, who she describes as being from a ‘very traditional’ family.
‘The cornerstone of any happy and healthy relationship is communication. If we’re going to make this decision and take these next steps together, I want us to be singing from the same hymn sheet,’ she says in her distinct Geordie accent, which has not softened despite her moving to Essex.
While letting the public in on your fertility journey may seem a daunting prospect for some, it’s just another day of work for Vicky. Having shot to fame on MTV’s Geordie Shore back in 2011 and going on to appear on the likes of Celebrity Big Brother and I’m A Celebrity, she’s used to letting the cameras in – even on her hard days.
‘Anyone who’s watched anything I’ve been in will know that I’m f***ing going to cry, because I’m such a fanny,’ she admits.
Vicky married husband Ercan in 2024 ©Dave Benett/Getty Images for M&S Food
But the new show is far more serious than the reality programmes that helped bring her into the mainstream. As we begin to discuss her struggles with PMDD (Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder) Vicky’s laidback persona becomes slightly more rigid.
‘I worry what type of mum it will make me. It’s a very real concern,’ she says. ‘You see yourself as being this fun mother who’s reading stories and making sourdough from scratch or whatever. But, when I’m in the trenches of my PMDD fog, I can barely get out of bed.’
Vicky also shuts down ‘outdated’ views about choosing to conceive later in life, strongly championing women to find their own paths – whether that includes children or not.
‘What a woman chooses to do with her life is her decision. Whether that’s having a child at 20 or having one at 40,’ she says. ‘There’s also the very valid option of remaining childfree and pursuing other things.’
And in non-typical celebrity fashion, Vicky is refreshingly honest about her own decision to postpone starting a family.
‘For a lot of people, they’ve had this burning desire to be a mum since they were young. That’s incredible, but for me, I had different things I wanted to do. I was partying and travelling and pursuing my career and kissing the wrong boys. I wouldn’t have been the type of mother I wanted to be in my 20s,’ she says.
Vicky nearly made it down the aisle twice – she was previously engaged to Ricci Guarnaccio in 2012 and to John Noble in 2017 – before meeting Ercan in 2019. The couple tied the knot in 2024 at London’s Marylebone Hall before jetting to the Amalfi Coast for a four-day second wedding – and they’ve been enjoying wedded bliss ever since.
Ercan was the supportive husband when Vicky competed on Strictly Come Dancing last year – a TV gig she’d long hoped for, even admitting to having ‘manifested’ it. Learning to dance came at the perfect time and was something she wanted to tick off her never-ending to-do list before entertaining the idea of starting a family.
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‘I was keen to do Strictly before we tried for a baby because I felt like you’re stressed enough about learning the dance steps, the routines and everything else, I don’t also want to be worried about a postpartum body in sequins and sparkles,’ she candidly shares, admitting that she’s her ‘own worst critic’.
She adds, ‘Hats off to people who do it and juggle being a parent and everything else, because I just about survived doing it with two dogs at home.’
Some may argue Vicky has ultimately completed reality TV – so, what’s next for her career-wise? ‘If I can use my platform for good and make strong and powerful TV that gets people talking, that’s probably where I see myself in five or ten years’ time,’ she says with excitement.
Vicky Pattison: Maybe, baby? will be available from March 31st on C4 Streaming and E4. Watch Vicky on The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up To Cancer on April 5th.
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