Charlotte Dujardin has celebrated the upcoming birth of her first child with a baby shower – which also included a surprise proposal from her partner, Dean Golding.
Charlotte and Dean are expecting their first child, a daughter, in January 2023, having announced the news following a gender reveal party in August. Charlotte has now shared images from her baby shower, thrown for her by friends Toni Terry and Marsha Webb, and describing it as “a very special day to remember”.
“Thank you to all our friends and family for coming together to celebrate this very special occasion. Words can’t describe the joy and happiness that we both feel at the moment and how excited we are to meet our little girl,” Charlotte continued.
She also revealed that she and Dean are now engaged to be married after Dean proposed at the baby shower.
“To top off this beautiful evening, Dean surprised me with asking me to be his wife, and of course I said yes! We look forward to all that comes next.”
Charlotte and Dean were previously engaged for several years, with Dean famously asking, “Can we get married now?” after Charlotte won her second Olympic individual title with Valegro in 2016. The pair split up in 2019, but rekindled their relationship over the past year.
Charlotte has been winding down her riding over recent months, with her final competition having been the National Dressage Championships in September, where she competed seven different horses across the four days. Carl Hester has been stepping up to help keep her horses going at home, who include Hawtins San Floriana, Alive And Kicking and Times Kismet, as well as Charlotte’s 2022 world silver medallist Imhotep.
“We’re looking at having five grand prix horses ready for the next Olympic Games, and we have some very exciting ones starting grand prix next spring,” Carl told H&H.
Charlotte has, however, been keeping busy giving masterclasses and training, including supporting 18-year-old Annabella Pidgley at her first international show with Gio last weekend.
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