TV’s Rachel: Why I’m counting my blessings
MATHS whizz Rachel Riley has counted down the days to mark her first wedding anniversary with a sweet family snap.
Holding their daughter Maven, the Countdown presenter is all smiles in the photo with husband Pasha Kovalev, 40.
The 34-year-old captioned the Instagram picture: “One year later! Celebrating today with our extra smiler in the family. Love these two. What a first year it’s been!”
While six-month-old Maven’s colourful polka dot top matched her mum’s cherry-motif blouse, fans were quick to point out that Maven is the image of her daddy.
One well-wisher wrote: “She is so cute [looks like daddy]”, and another commented: “Congratulations and what a lovely family you make.”
Rachel delighted her 479,000 followers with a second snap for the anniversary on Sunday. The TV star and the professional dancer were pictured during their Las Vegas wedding when they married in secret in 2019.
The pair started dating in 2014 after they were partnered in Strictly Come Dancing’s 2013 series.
At the time, Rachel announced their marriage with a photo of the couple in front of a carousel decorated with flowers. She wrote: “Introducing the new Mr and Mrs Kovalev...We both said yes!”
The couple, who welcomed Maven in December, have been enjoying their time together at home during the coronavirus pandemic. Speaking on Heart Breakfast, Rachel admitted lockdown had been a blessing for the family.
Asked how she was feeling about being a new parent during the crisis, Rachel said: “Well we’re quite fortunate in a way. I was supposed to be back at work, Pasha was supposed to be on tour, and it’s kind of enforced maternity and paternity leave we didn’t have before so we’re loving it.”
She also revealed the family were isolating with Pasha’s mother Galina, who had been stranded because travel restrictions.
Rachel added: “My mother-in-law, she was over from Russia visiting me and she got here with the Russian borders closing so I’ve got a live-in baby sitter – we’re really lucky and can’t complain.”