Mother's Day with Beth Fisher and Anita Asante

Tell us a little bit about you and your family... 

We’ve been together for nearly 5 years, got married in January 2023 and we are first time mums to 8-month year old Gigi. Anita is a former professional footballer who now works for BBC on their football coverage, and I (Beth) am a sports journalist and currently on maternity leave. We live in a seaside town in Wales, called Penarth and we are still getting used to our new life as parents.  

Can you share with us your journey to becoming mums?  

We talked about having a baby very early into our relationship, as I am 41 and Anita is 38 so we knew that time was maybe against us and had heard from friends that the process can take years. We started our IVF journey in 2021 but because Anita was still playing football, we knew that we couldn’t do anything until she retired in May 2022. We decided very early on that we wanted to do Reciprocal IVF (also known as ‘Shared Motherhood IVF’, ‘Intra-partner Egg Donation’ or ‘Partner IVF’). We used Anita’s eggs and I carried, and we were very lucky that it worked first time with our gorgeous girl being born in June 2023.   

What advice would you give to new parents who are navigating the early stages of parenthood? 

The first night we got home from hospital we cried in each other’s arms because we were so overwhelmed at our new life, and we were almost mourning our previous freedom. Suddenly you have this little human who relies on you 24/7 and on top of that you are recovering from the birth. Don’t feel guilty about feeling lost - it’s so hard! Our advice would also be, be kind to yourselves and do it all your own way. You’ll receive so much advice from people, which is of course sent with love, but sometimes you just have to be selfish and spend all day as a family in your pyjamas with no pressures of seeing anyone or doing anything.  

What are some of the most rewarding aspects of motherhood that you’ve experienced since becoming parents? Has it changed your perspective on life?  

Seeing Gigi grow from this tiny newborn to a crawling little bundle of joy with so much personality is obviously so rewarding. My sister, Hannah, has two children and lives very close so seeing the three of them together makes our hearts burst. We also love nothing more than going for a walk with our iCandy Peach 7 and grabbing a coffee. It’s so simple but something we have always dreamed of.  

Managing work-life balance can be challenging for many families; mothers especially. How do you prioritise your time between your professional career, family life, and personal interests? 

Anita’s schedule is extremely crazy because on top of her TV work she also coaches the Lionesses U23 team so every other month she will be away for ten days at a time. It’s tough on both of us but we have really made sure that when Anita is home, we spend time just hanging out with each other doing nothing. We also have a routine where every day we ask each other what does the other need to do; whether that’s exercise, work or the washing!! That way we can plan a bit better but equally ensure that Gigi is having the best time. This is something we have learnt to do after the first few months of chaos. 

Have you encountered any particular challenges as LGBTQ+ parents? 

We’ve had a bit of online abuse regarding being same sex parents but both of us have learnt to ignore that. In ‘real life’ we’ve been so lucky that so far, we haven’t had any real challenges. We both agree that having a baby girl has made us be even more determined to live our lives authentically and be unapologetically proud of our family unit and being part of the LGBTQ+ family.  

With the iCandy Peach 7 being such a popular choice for parents, how has it made your daily routines easier and more enjoyable? 

The biggest compliment we can give is that we’ve hardly used the car! I particularly love walking and try to do at least 10k steps a day so the iCandy Peach 7 has been the perfect pushchair to fit into my lifestyle. We also live in a very hilly area, but the Peach 7 is so lightweight, and is perfect for different terrains thanks to its brilliant suspension. We love walking up to the town and shopping locally, so the extra spacious basket has been brilliant for carrying it all home. When we do go somewhere in the car, it’s so easy to collapse and carry. Overall, it’s just made our lives so much easier and most importantly Gigi absolutely loves being in it! 

Mother's Day is often associated with sentimental gestures and appreciation. How will you be celebrating your first Mother’s Day as a family? 

Sometimes we can’t quite believe we are mums so our first Mother’s Day will of course be a special one. But we are also very aware that Mother’s Day can be a hard day for many people for different reasons, so we will celebrate quietly and with our family over a roast.