Netflix’s Duchess star expecting another baby with husband who she dumped on prom night before reuniting 20 years later – as she jokes they ‘haven’t slept since they met’
Katherine Ryan is expecting her fourth child at 41, proving that her husband Bobby Kootstra’s reputation as the family’s “fun guy/cool guy” is well deserved.
The Canadian comedian, who stars as a judge on Canada’s Got Talent, is pregnant with her third child with childhood sweetheart Bobby, with whom she has been in a civil partnership since 2019, HELLO! magazine can exclusively confirm.
The new addition will join the couple’s son Fred, three, daughter Fenna Grace, two, and Katherine’s 15-year-old daughter Violet from a previous relationship – adding to what the star has jokingly described as their sleep-deprived household.
“We have three kids and would always welcome more! We love making people,” Katherine recently revealed, adding with her trademark humour: “Basically, we haven’t slept since we met.”
THE PROM NIGHT DUMPING THAT LED TO TRUE LOVE
In one of comedy’s greatest love stories, Katherine and Bobby first dated at high school in Sarnia, Ontario, where a young Katherine had “just gotten my braces off and was in the market for a boyfriend and hopefully some eyebrows.
I saw Bobby and decided I was going to marry him,” she revealed in a recent interview, though their teenage romance came to an abrupt end when a drunk Bobby unceremoniously dumped her on prom night.
The pair went their separate ways for two decades before fate intervened in 2018 when Katherine returned to Canada to film Who Do You Think You Are? – leading to a reunion that would change both their lives.
FROM LONDON EYE REJECTION TO DANISH COURTHOUSE
Their rekindled romance wasn’t without its bumps. When Bobby first arrived in London, he invited Katherine to “a private champagne experience on the London Eye,” which she flatly declined “because it sounded too romantic and I didn’t want to get sucked in.”
Bobby went alone and shared the ride with some random tourist women,” Katherine revealed. “They sent photos, and it didn’t give me FOMO because I truly detest the London Eye.”
The couple eventually tied the knot in typically unconventional fashion at a Copenhagen courthouse in 2019 “for admin reasons” related to immigration – though Bobby did manage to surprise her with a last-minute proposal while pretending to tie his shoe during a bike ride in Oxfordshire.
“We’d already booked the flights so it was more of a gesture than an actual proposal,” Katherine admitted.
BABY-MAKING MACHINE
The couple wasted no time expanding their family after reuniting. Their son Frederick Ryan Kootstra was born on June 13, 2021, with Bobby proudly declaring on social media that “Mom has the reproductive organs of a finely tuned Sportscar.”
He added that Katherine had “raced this baby over the line just in time for kickoff” during a football match, completing the birth in just three hours “start to finish.
Their daughter Fenna Grace followed in 2022, when Katherine was 39 and still breastfeeding Fred – having announced that pregnancy during a live podcast recording where she showed off her bump.
AGE IS JUST A NUMBER
Prior to this latest pregnancy announcement, Katherine had been open about her hopes for a fourth child despite being over 40.
“It’s not that surprising that over-40 women have fewer follicles than we once did,” she said on her TV show At Home With Katherine Ryan. “But we talk a lot about male fertility as well, which is on a steep decline.”
The star previously revealed she got pregnant with Fenna “the first time I tried” while still breastfeeding, joking at the time: “I don’t think it’s going to work because I’m 39 – I would have been 38 when I got pregnant.
Clearly, her concerns were unfounded.
BOBBY THE BREAKOUT STAR
While Katherine has built a successful career spanning stand-up specials on Netflix, panel shows like 8 Out of 10 Cats, and her own sitcom The Duchess, Bobby has emerged as an unlikely star in his own right.
I work and Bobby mostly stays home with the kids, but lately he’s been roped into the family reality show, At Home With Katherine Ryan, and is fast emerging as the breakout star for his ‘fun guy/cool guy’ persona,” Katherine revealed.
Bobby, who was born in 1982 and reportedly works in the broadcasting industry, has embraced his role as a hands-on dad and social media personality, regularly sharing family updates with their fans.
VIOLET’S JOURNEY FROM TABLE-FLIPPER TO BIG SISTER
Katherine’s eldest daughter Violet, now 15, initially wasn’t keen on her mother’s reunion with Bobby.
My daughter didn’t want me to be in a relationship because it had just been the two of us against the world for a really long time,” Katherine previously revealed. “She was not trusting of my decisions. She flipped out, genuinely flipped a table.”
However, Violet has since embraced her role as big sister to Fred and Fenna, with Katherine noting: “We laugh about it already.”
THE BUSY LIFE OF A FOURTH-TIME MUM
The pregnancy comes as Katherine juggles multiple projects, including her role as a judge on Canada’s Got Talent (where the finale airs on May 13 with a $1 million prize), her ongoing comedy tour with a stop in Toronto on May 17, and her various TV commitments.
In 2023, she won the Outstanding Female Comedy Entertainment Performance award at the National Comedy Awards for Backstage with Katherine Ryan, and continues to be one of Britain’s most beloved adopted comedians.
NO WHITE DRESS NEEDED
True to form, Katherine has never been one for convention. When discussing her civil partnership with Bobby, she quipped: “I didn’t need to put on a white dress and pretend to be a virgin, that ship has sailed!”
As the couple prepares to welcome their fourth child, one thing is certain – with Katherine’s sharp wit and Bobby’s “fun guy” credentials, this latest addition to the Ryan-Kootstra clan is guaranteed to arrive into a household full of laughter, love, and very little sleep.
Image credit: Katherine Ryan at Made In Dagenham press night, 2014 by See Li, licensed under CC BY 2.0.
