EXPECTING your first baby should be one of the happiest times of your life – and, of course, former Hollyoaks star Nikki Sanderson and her partner, actor Anthony Quinlan, 41, can’t wait to become parents.
But not everyone was excited for the 41-year-old actress when she announced the news in December, and since then, Nikki has found herself on the receiving end of some particularly brutal trolling.
“Some people said I was selfish to have a baby at ‘my age’. Anthony said: ‘Do they not know we are the same age?’ It’s clearly not selfish for him! We’re both in our 40s, but it was targeted at me, the female in the dynamic. How can it be selfish for the mother, but not the father?” Nikki says.
“Some people also said that if there’s anything’s wrong with our baby, I’m to blame and I should feel bad for it. It’s so hurtful. Why would anyone say something like that?”
Incredibly, even in 2026, Nikki was criticised for having a baby out of wedlock.
“What an outdated way of thinking. That worries me less, as we’re in a long-term, happy, healthy relationship and we’re bringing our child into the world together as a very strong, happy, healthy couple,” she says.
“People say things like: ‘She’s ruined her body now,’ or: ‘He’ll leave her now she’s put on weight,’ or: ‘She will be a single mum in six months’ time.’
“Anthony was like: ‘I can’t believe it!’ He was angry that it was all aimed at me. It’s such a double standard.
“He really fancies me like this – he loves my bump. I am really happy for my body to change. It’s a miracle that it’s able to do this. Anthony is so supportive and says: ‘They do realise this is my baby, too?’ He can’t understand people’s logic, especially as we are both over the moon.”
Nikki says it’s a no-win situation for women.
“People get judged if they have kids young, or if they are an older parent. When you start a family, someone’s going to judge you for it. I don’t understand trolling in general. Why would someone want to be vile about somebody that they don’t know? If I didn’t like something, I’d not feel like I needed to comment. I would just move on.”
Any woman would find it hard having their appearance, age and relationship dissected, but it’s particularly difficult for Nikki, currently in her third trimester.
“Don’t get me wrong, there were times before I was pregnant when I saw nasty and horrible comments,” she admits.
“And I’d be lying if I said I just brush them all off and ignore it.
“I do internalise it, and it does hurt and upset me. I’m human. But I am so hormonal at the moment. All I can do is try to ignore it. Having a supportive partner does really help.
“The sad thing is some of the comments aren’t that shocking to me, because I have seen them before on other people’s pregnancy announcements. It’s the same old thing.
“At the end of the day, Anthony and I have been incredibly lucky that the vast majority of people are genuinely happy for us. But that small minority saying those things was hurtful and shocking.”
As for being an “older mum”, Nikki isn’t fazed that any pregnancy over 35 is labelled as “geriatric”.
“I know some people don’t like it, but it doesn’t bother me,” she says. “I am what you would class as an older mum, but as long as the baby is happy and healthy, then I’m fine.”
For Nikki, who started her career on Coronation Street, the baby is like the perfect ending to a fairy-tale relationship with boyfriend Anthony, who has appeared on both Hollyoaks and Emmerdale.
“People think we’ve known each other for years because we were in the same show. But we actually weren’t in it at the same time! He left Hollyoaks in 2011, then I joined in 2012. We moved in similar circles so we might have said ‘hi’ in passing. But now, we’ve been together for nearly five years. He is just an amazing guy.”
In true showbiz style, the pair got together after Anthony slid into her DMs.
“We were talking because he has a health supplement company called BoxedOff Lifestyle, and I was doing a lot of training at the time. He was asking me about products and when we started talking, we got on really well.
“Dating wasn’t really on my mind. I was quite happy living my life and not thinking: ‘I need a boyfriend,’ but it was sort of instantaneous. Plus, he is a good-looking lad. Anyone with eyeballs can see that,” she giggles.
And it’s all worked out. We’ve got a great dynamic and we’re in a very happy relationship, with a little one on the way. I couldn’t imagine my life without him now.”
Having met Anthony when she was in her late 30s, Nikki was forced to have some serious conversations about the future, as she didn’t want to waste her time if they weren’t looking for the same things.
“We discussed having kids quite early on,” she says.
“It wasn’t the first date – that would be a lot! But it was early. You need to see if you are on the same page near the beginning of a relationship, because when you get to our age, it is something that you have to take into consideration.
“I’d said to him that I would like to freeze my eggs because I was in my late-30s. I think I was 37 when I did that, and he was really supportive of it. It gave me a bit of peace of mind, too.
“Anthony and I wanted to be able to enjoy our relationship and spend a bit of time just as us, too. It was a realistic conversation that we had to have. He was very understanding as well and was totally on board. We knew we wanted to travel and spend time together, but ultimately we both wanted to become parents at some point in our lives.”
The couple had been together for around 18 months when they started trying to conceive and, after struggling, they considered IVF.
“We decided to try for a baby and it wasn’t happening easily, so after a year, we went on the IVF waiting list,” Nikki explains.
“We had all the tests to see if there was anything causing problems, and we were both fit and healthy, so we kept trying naturally. And thankfully, I got pregnant, which I’m extremely grateful for.
“It was such a shock, in the best possible way. We kept thinking: ‘Is this real?’ We were blessed because I know that some people really do struggle, and we were very lucky. Everyone was so over the moon.”
I’m looking forward to everything, even the poonamis!
Nikki Sanderson
But the pregnancy hasn’t been completely smooth. “I had all the usual stuff that people have,” she says.
“Although it wasn’t like ‘morning’ sickness, because my nausea was constant. We had some scary points as well. I had a few bleeds, which were really frightening. The hospital was so fantastic and made sure I was OK and the baby was OK,” she adds.
“Fortunately, after about 16 weeks, it all calmed down. And since then, it’s been really lovely. I’m only having the stuff now that everyone gets – the exhaustion, bad hip and back pain. But I just think: ‘I’ll take it all day to have a healthy baby.’ It’s short-term pain for a very long-term, amazing gain.”
Despite always being active, Nikki decided to cut down on her hard-core exercise regime while expecting. “I’m still quite active, but I’m not training,” she admits.
“I stopped as soon as I found out I was pregnant. I know you can train all the way through pregnancy, and a lot of women do. But I chose not to as I didn’t want to put my body through any extra strain or potentially injure myself. I have continued walking, but I have been slowing down a bit now.”
The pair recently discovered that they are expecting a boy – something Anthony is particularly excited about.
But what is Nikki most looking forward to about motherhood? “Everything,” she smiles.
“I don’t think I could pinpoint one thing, but I’m excited for his arrival and the skin-to-skin contact. I’m looking forward to seeing Anthony with our son on his chest. Every aspect of it, the good, the bad, even the poonamis!
“We both said we didn’t mind the baby’s sex, but Anthony is excited he’s got a little Manchester United sidekick who he can watch the football with. He says to me: ‘He could be the next Ronaldo.’ He talks to the bump and sings him songs – mainly football songs!”
Although there’s not long to go now, Nikki hasn’t been obsessively poring over her birth plan.
“My plan is to have no birth plan, to be honest,” she says.
“As long as the baby arrives safely, and I’m safe. If I can try to give birth naturally, then that’s great. If I need an epidural, that’s fine. If they turn around to me and say: ‘You need a C-section’, that’s OK. My birth plan is to be as relaxed as possible about it and not be strict on what I want. I’m just going to do whatever is best for the baby and for me to give birth.”
Nikki quit playing Maxine Minniver in Hollyoaks after 13 years last April, and once she is settled into motherhood, she’s keen to get back to her day job – just not too quickly.
“I am someone who tries to keep busy anyway,” she says.
“But until I have him, I’ve no idea what position I’m going to be in. I want to make sure I have time to heal and bond with the baby. Would I like to get back to work? Yes, but I don’t know how long it will be until I start auditioning. I want to be able to just live in that lovely little baby bubble.”
Marriage is something we both definitely want in the future
Nikki
She’s not ruling out a return to Coronation Street – where she played Sarah-Louise Platt’s pal, hairdresser Candice Stowe, from 1999 until 2005 – either.
“It’s always been left open on Corrie and Hollyoaks, both of which I absolutely adored and characters I loved playing,” she says.
“So it’s a ‘never say never’. Ultimately, it’s their decision if they want people to come back or not. But I’m very blessed that both soaps have kept my roles open.”
Even if Nikki doesn’t go back to the cobbles, she still has her bestie of 20 years – former co-star and mum-of-two Helen Flanagan – to lean on for parenting advice.
“Oh, Helen is so cute. I love her,” she says.
“She always says lovely little things on my Instagram. She’s lovely, and such a great mum. She really loves her kids.”
And while the trolls may have criticised her for being unmarried, has Nikki actually considered tying the knot with Anthony?
“Well, this is also one of those conversations that we had at the start of our relationship. It’s definitely something we’d want in the future. And I say ‘we’, not just me. But right now I think: ‘Let’s have the baby first.’ I want to have the nice ‘say yes to the dress’ moment – and he needs to ask me!
“Whatever happens and whenever it happens, it will be lovely, but at the minute we’re just genuinely really happy. Everything is wonderful.”
