Baby couple keep it real for TV
MEET the Welsh couple who got us all in stitches on Help! We’re Having a Baby.
Kelle Loader, 35, and Ali Al-Shayei, 38, made their first appearance on the new BBC show last Monday. The documentary aims to show what life is like when you’re expecting a baby.
It focuses on couples in Wales who are awaiting a new addition to the family – but Kelle and Ali, from Llanrumney, were the ones who made people laugh.
They captured a lot of people’s hearts when they started bickering over a broken fishtank.
Kelle wanted to get it mended but when Ali tried to fix it with Sellotape it continued to leak and she claims he made it worse. In the end she told him she couldn’t even watch him attempting to get the job done.
The scene was, perhaps, loved by viewers because it showed a sense of reality and familiarity many couples can relate to.
Ali said: “I’m glad people thought we came across with humour. A lot of people have mentioned the fishtank to us. Everyone who knows us knows that’s what we’re like.”
The couple got involved in the show after they saw an advert on Facebook when Kelle was a few months’ pregnant. After thinking about it, they decided to apply to appear in the series.
But they didn’t want to show the life of a perfect family – they wanted to display the tough reality of what it’s like to become a parent.
They wanted people to see that it’s normal for couples to bicker, to learn new things and get through some pretty tough times.
“It’s a full-time job and it’s hard,” said Ali. “We just wanted to show the truth and show that this is real life.”
Father-of-two Ali believes when you have a baby “your whole life changes” and this is something the show clearly documents.
He said: “When you have a family you go to work and come back and work again. Babies don’t come with a manual – you’re not able to learn the basics. This is what we show.”
The couple’s story also shines through for another reason, as the documentary works to highlight very different stories.
One couple are expecting triplets, while another are putting plans in place to enable the mother to have a home birth.
For Kelle and Ali, it’s all about how their four-year-old daughter, Ayla AlShayei, adapts to having a new sibling.
In the show Ali explained there was a time when, most nights, Ayla would want him to sleep in her bedroom.
Ali said: “She had me wrapped around her little finger. I think most fathers have that with their daughters, but you have to remember she’s four years old and suddenly someone else is getting your attention.”
Since the arrival of baby Aiyan, who is now seven months old, Ayla has become more used to having another little person around.
Little Aiyan has now completed the little family.
Ali said: “Kelle was always quite business-focused. I have always wanted children. She was more about work and business because she’s a psychiatric nurse.”
Ali, a customer experience adviser, said for Kelle it was all about meeting the right person. But on the show she says she wasn’t impressed by Ali’s pictures when they first got in contact via Facebook.
“She was on my radar and nine years later and we have two kids, said Ali.
“After a few years she must have decided I was the right person to have children with. We spoke about it and the time was right.
“I have so much respect for all mothers – every mother is a superhero. For everyone who has given birth. Oh my gosh, it’s just magical.”
Even though the couple admit they wanted to show how it can be hard to be a parent, they don’t want to put people off it.
■■The next episode of Help! We’re Having A Baby is on tonight at 8.30pm on BBC One Wales