EMMERDALE star Anthony Quinlan has hit out at trolls who called pregnant partner Nikki Sanderson “selfish” for having a baby at 41.
Anthony and Nikki, both 41, revealed they were expecting a child together on Christmas Eve last year, and in March they confirmed they are expecting a baby boy.
But despite many fans being overjoyed at the couple’s baby news, a handful of cruel trolls branded Nikki “selfish” for having a child in her forties.
Others harshly said Anthony would leave her now she was pregnant, leaving the pair stunned.
Anthony has now revealed his reaction to the cruel comments.
Speaking to The Sun about the comments Nikki received, Anthony said: “It aggrieved me a lot and it upset Nik.
“There were comments like, ‘Oh, do you realise now you’re pregnant he’s going to leave you?’ And I was like — do they realise they’re talking about the mother of my child and my child?
“Listen, we are absolutely solid. We are solid, and it is totally the right time.
“Whatever happens in life, you’ve made a commitment. You’re a parent and you’ve got that responsibility. I would never leave Nik in the lurch, ever.
“I’m going to be 110 per cent present for my little boy. I couldn’t imagine bringing a child into the world and not wanting to be fully there for them.
“It just baffles me. It breaks my heart that some kids don’t have that care and that love,” he said.
Anthony added: “For us it’s definitely the right time. It did annoy me that certain opinions were thrown about.
“But listen, we’re susceptible to that for being in the media. We’d like to give them a big middle finger. They can do one.”
Anthony went on to say: “There were some things said online when we shared our news that annoyed me.
“For every ten positive things, you’re always going to get one negative. Some keyboard warrior going out there with nothing better to do.
“There were a few things directed at Nik saying it’s selfish to bring a child into the world at this age — and yet nothing was ever really directed at me, only at her.
“It’s difficult enough as a woman in your forties without that. I hate the terminology — being classed as ‘geriatric’ in your thirties. I think it’s wrong.
“People should be supporting and championing each other. People choose to have children at different times, whether for career reasons or simply because the time is right in their life.
“And some people go through real struggles. We did. We had a couple of difficulties trying to conceive and were looking at going down the IVF route.
“As soon as we started that process, we were fortunate enough to conceive naturally.
“People don’t know what journey you’ve been on or what it means to you. We are absolutely solid, totally ready, and we can’t wait.”
