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Kellie Bright has fired back at criticism for having a baby at the age of 44, saying 'no one would bat an eyelid' if she was a man.
The EastEnders actress is currently expecting her third child with husband Paul Stocker after undergoing a frozen embryo transfer.
Speaking to OK! magazine, Kellie noted her husband is several years younger than her and so has the energy to run after the kids.
© Provided by Daily MailMotherhood: Kellie Bright has fired back at criticism for having a baby at the age of 44, saying 'no one would bat an eyelid' if she was a man
She said: 'First of all, if I was a man having my third child at 44, no one would bat an eyelid. Don't forget my husband is much younger than me.
'He's in his thirties, so he's still running around after the kids, which is great. We met when I was 31 and I didn't want to jump straight into having kids.'
Kellie, who is also mother to sons Freddy, nine, and Gene, four, said she would have finished having babies at the end of her thirties if she had the chance to map out a perfect life.
She said: 'But who gets to pick their life like that? We had fertility struggled we didn't expect and had to just deal with it.'
© Provided by Daily MailExpecting: The EastEnders actress is currently expecting her third child with husband Paul Stocker after undergoing a frozen embryo transfer (pictured on EastEnders)
Kellie and Paul needed IVF treatment after they struggled to get pregnant with their second child and got four 'strong' embryos, one of which became Gene.
They then used the remaining three to try for a third, with the first two not working, while they experienced a bleed with the last.
Although the bleed left Kellie in tears, it ended up not affecting the pregnancy.
Kellie admitted she wouldn't tell women to wait as late as she did before having IVF, describing the experience as a 'rollercoaster'.
The soap star said she almost fell to the floor when she learned she was pregnant for a third time, saying she knew it was her 'last chance'.
© Provided by Daily MailGreat news: The actress, 44, already a parent to sons Freddy, nine, and Gene, four, with husband Paul (pictured), will welcome the child in August
Speaking to OK! magazine in January 2017 - two months after welcoming second child Gene - Kellie admitted she was already entertaining the idea of conceiving a third.
She said: 'I don't feel ready to shut the door on motherhood just yet. But if we do have another one, it won't be immediately.'
Of motherhood, she added: 'It's such a cliché but it really is a love like nothing else. In that moment, you feel like everything you need is right there in that room - apart from Freddy of course.
'I couldn't believe in only seven hours he'd arrived and my whole world had changed again.'
© Provided by Daily MailKellie said: 'First of all, if I was a man having my third child at 44, no one would bat an eyelid. Don't forget my husband is much younger than me'
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