Jools Oliver, Jamie Oliver and children - family facts

How did Jools and Jamie meet?

TV chef Jamie and model/fashion designer Jools met as teenagers, on a double date with Jamie’s friend Jimmy Doherty.

Their pre-fame romance began when Jamie was 17, and he opened up about their 1st date on a 2012 episode of Alan Carr Chatty Man.

“It was a double date, I had my Fiesta with lowered suspension and a sound system.

“We were driving there that night and then I went smashing into the back of another car.

“[Jools] felt sorry for me. She thought 'the way he drives, he needs support in life'.”

As their relationship continued, Jamie shot to fame. After appearing in a 1999 documentary about his place of work, the River Café, he was approached by producers and given his own TV show, The Naked Chef, in the same year.

Jools and Jamie’s wedding

In June 2000, Jamie and Jools wed in a ceremony at All Saints Church in Rickling, Essex. They were around 25/26 at the time.

The couple shared a few throwback wedding pics on social media for their 15th and 16th wedding anniversaries, so in case you were wondering what Jamie wore: it was a light blue suit with crocodile print loafers.

(Jools went for a classic white gown and veil).

Trying for baby no 1

Jools revealed that she has Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, which left her unsure if she’d be able to conceive naturally.

She said she’d always thought she’d struggle with fertility, having had irregular periods since the age of 16. She decided to take Clomid, a drug which helps stimulate ovulation, but quickly found herself experiencing some of the negative side effects.

“Dizziness, panic attacks, blurred vision… [but I was] determined to get the thing done. It was awful, but I just thought: ‘Keep going.’ I’m sure any couple that has been through fertility treatment understands what I’m saying,” she told News Of The World (via People).

“I think I spent lots of time panicking and that made the effects of the drug worse,” she confessed.

“It was a hard few months and there was so much pressure on us both. It was especially tough for Jamie because he was working. It’s not a nice way to try to get a baby really.”

Jools' 1st pregnancy

In 2001, after a successful round of IVF, Jools became pregnant with her 1st child.

Jools detailed the moment she discovered she was expecting for the 1st time in her book, Minus Nine To One: The Diary Of An Honest Mum.

In an extract published to The Telegraph in 2005, Jools wrote:

“I am sure everyone remembers vividly where they were when they did that amazing pregnancy test - the one where two blue lines show instead of just the one.

“Well, this is how it happened for me: Jamie had gone off to film a Sainsbury's ad and I was settling into life in our new house, a maisonette in Hampstead.

“While running my usual morning bath, I was rummaging through the as yet unpacked box labelled "bath stuff", looking for a scrubbing brush, when I came across a lonely-looking pregnancy test - I just had to use it up.

“I took the test into the bedroom and ever so casually sat down to watch This Morning. With one eye on Richard and Judy, I glanced at the test. This time it was different - before my eyes, the test became positive.

“That magical blue line appeared and I just didn't believe it. I felt weak at the knees.

"I grabbed the phone to call Jamie, but his bloody mobile was turned off. I had to tell someone, so I phoned my mum - I screamed into her answering machine: "I'm pregnant! I'm pregnant!"

Poppy Honey Rosie Oliver

On 18 March 2002, Jamie and Jools welcomed their 1st child, a baby girl.

Their well-documented love for nature-inspired baby names began with the moniker Poppy Honey Rosie.

Becoming a mum was a dream come true for Jools, who has said previously:

“Yes, probably from when I was about 15 or 16. I knew I didn’t want a career but wanted to do what my mum did, bring up children. I modelled for a while, but it wasn’t really me. I was never comfortable. I’m comfortable being a mum.”

And while Jamie didn’t understand at first, he told Hello! magazine: “Until she became a mother, I never understood… she’s a mum and that’s her world.”

Daisy Boo Pamela Oliver

4 months after Poppy’s birth, Jools found out she was expecting again – naturally.

And on 12 April 2003, almost exactly 13 months after welcoming their 1st child, Jools and Jamie had another girl.

They picked the floral name Daisy, and middle names Boo and Pamela.

Trying for baby no 3

When it came to try for their 3rd child, 6 years after having their 2nd, Jools realised her periods had stopped.

“When I wanted another baby, I thought that I wouldn’t be able to. I feared I’d waited too long to try for another, so I had to use Clomid again,” Jools told News Of The World (via People) of her fertility struggles.

She says the side effects returned, but fortunately, she was able to fall pregnant with baby no 3 naturally.

Petal Blossom Rainbow Oliver

When Petal Blossom Rainbow was born on 3 April 2009, talk about the name choices Jamie and Jools were making was turning into criticism.

But that didn’t stop the celeb couple from picking multiple names, some of which were at the time considered a little bit unusual…

“They all have more than one name because I couldn’t decide,” Jools later said, according to The Telegraph.

“I’m not sure where Petal Rainbow came from - apparently it’s a My Little Pony! I wanted to call her Rainbow but Jamie told me to calm down.

“…I hate people’s opinions on names. Whatever you call your baby is your decision.”

Buddy Bear Maurice Oliver

On 15 September 2010, the couple’s 1st son was born, and called Buddy Bear Maurice.

Jamie had previously admitted he’d love to have a son, so no doubt it was a very special time for the Oliver household.

Having picked 3 girls names (well, technically 9 girls names) in the past, Jools revealed that choosing her 1st son’s name was something else!

"With Buddy it was quite fun choosing a boy’s name, as I hadn’t done it before,” she admitted.

And she also talked about how she managed her life having 4 children:

“I’m a bit strict and regimented, but when you have 4 children it's essential to have routines. I'd like to be a bit more relaxed - perhaps not as relaxed as Jamie, but maybe somewhere in the middle, that would be good.

“I’d like to think I could relax the routine and be a bit more hippie about it all, but I probably wouldn’t be."

Jools' 5th pregnancy

In March 2016, Jamie and Jools shocked us all (in the best way possible) when they announced they were expecting baby no 5.

Jamie even said: “My own family were shocked, too.”

Though the pregnancy news was a surprise to all involved, it seems Jools had hinted at wanting a 5th child, after she said she’d like to put a Moses basket from her Little Bird baby range to good use ?

We caught the 1st glimpse of Jools’ baby bump on the red carpet – and her due date was predicted to be August 2016.

During her pregnancy, the couple teased fans on Instagram about the sex of they baby when Jools took a pendulum test and her 6-month bump snap left fans wondering: boy or girl?

At 8 months, Jools was spotted out and about looking comfy and casual as she ran a few errands.

And right before she gave birth, fans speculated that Jools had actually given away her 5th child’s sex in an Instagram post that featured a lot of baby blue…

River Rocket Oliver

Sure enough, Jamie and Jools’ 2nd son River Rocket was born on 8 August 2016.

The couple waited a while to reveal his name – even posting a series of cryptic Instagram posts to make us all guess - but that didn’t stop Jamie from ‘hacking’ Jools’ Instagram just a few days after she’d given birth.

The telly chef shared a very sweet snap of Jools napping on the sofa while their newborn slept in a bassinette on the floor beside her.

He wrote to Jools’ followers: '"@jamieoliver hacked mums Instagram account. Bless them both sleeping and exhausted together I can't tell you what a wicked mum this chick is... I had the best week off readjusting to the new family member a baby boy and I've loved every single minute...”

But in November 2016, when River was just 4 months old, Jools and Jamie faced 2 social media controversies over their parenting decisions.

The couple were criticised for using a baby carrier this way – and were then lambasted for allowing their 2 eldest daughters to watch River being born.

The latter prompted Jamie to hit back with a response – he said it was only ‘strange’ people who would question their personal choice.

Images: Instagram/Jools Oliver, Instagram/Jamie Oliver

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