Ant and Dec have shared a rare insight into their fatherhood journeys, including their one regret.
The TV presenting duo both became fathers for the first time in their forties. Ant welcomed his first child, a son named Wilder, with his wife Anne-Marie Corbett in May 2024, and is also a stepdad to her two teenage daughters.
Meanwhile, Dec shares two young children – seven-year-old daughter Isla and three-year-old son Jack – with his wife Ali Astall.
During the latest episode of their podcast, Hanging Out With Ant & Dec, the pair were asked by a listener: “What was it like to be a dad for the first time, and did it change you in any way?”
Ant responded: “I was lucky enough to be stepdad to my girls a few years before my son was born, so I feel like I had a really great introduction to fatherhood because I got to be able to talk to them straight away. We could go out and the feedback was immediate.
“And then when Wilder came along, I got to do all of the baby and toddler stuff that I didn’t get to do with the girls. So, I’ve had the best of both worlds really,” the 50-year-old gushed.
“It changes you for the better. All of the sleepless nights, the early mornings, the tiredness is all worth it. It’s the greatest thing I think you can do. It far surpasses anything that we’ve achieved in our career,” he added.
Dec agreed: “I think it’s our biggest achievement. Out of everything we’ve done professionally, it’s the thing that I think we’ve got the most satisfaction from.
“When they first come along, you don’t realise how much they change your life, but for the better, the absolute better. It’s almost like when they do come along, you’ve discovered the meaning of life. You find levels of love in you that you didn’t realise you had.
“For me, I was lucky enough to have two, a girl and a boy. I was a bit worried before Jack came along because I thought, ‘God, am I ever going to be able to love him as much as I love Isla?’” the 50-year-old continued.
“‘Do I have to half my love to both of them? Do they both get half of my love? Because she’s got it all at the moment.’ And then he came along and you realise then, oh no, you don’t half anything. You get double the love.
“You reach another level within you that you just find more love for this other little thing. It’s the best thing ever. I wish I’d done it earlier and I wish I’d had ten,” Dec exclaimed, before laughing: “Maybe not ten. Maybe three.”
Ant added: “Yeah, I agree. I’ve got three and I’d have more!”
