Jesinta Franklin admits staying in shape throughout pregnancy has been more challenging than she expected

Model and former Miss Universe Australia Jesinta Franklin is expecting her first child with AFL star husband, Lance “Buddy” Franklin any day now.

One might have expected there to have been a whole lot of pressure for the 28-year-old beauty to stay in shape throughout her pregnancy because of her career, but for the down-to-earth Gold Coast-raised star there was only one voice to listen to: her own body.

In an interview with Vogue Australia, Jesinta shares that it was not very long into her pregnancy at all before she realised that any ideas she had about staying in shape went “completely out the window.”

Because of a difficult journey to pregnancy, Jesinta says she was advised to take it easy and avoid doing anything high intensity, which meant shelving her love of boxing and kick-boxing for a while.

“So, for the first four weeks I really didn’t do much. I walked every day,” the mum-to-be told Vogue.

“I went for a nice long, one hour power walk every day and then I got really sick. To the point [of] almost bed ridden until 16 weeks.”

Severe pelvic issues have also plagued the fitness-loving star, firmly enforcing her into a period of taking it easy that she wasn’t quite expecting.

For most of her pregnancy, Fluidform Pilates and stretching have been all she’s been able to manage, with even walking proving too painful.

“I’ve kind of just had to surrender to the fact that it’s just my body doing its thing and I have to listen to it and there’s hopefully going to be plenty of time to work out when the baby comes,” she says.

“I just always remind myself the most important thing is the health of the baby and making sure I’m doing the best thing for my body and for the baby as well.”

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The 28-year-old has been open about the many changes her body has undergone throughout her entire pregnancy.

“There are lots of different stretch marks that I didn’t have before and I’ve noticed some cellulite and I’ve gone up a few sizes but I could put on 100kg and have a body covered in stretch marks and it would not bother me at all,” she told the Herald Sun in her first trimester.

“My physical appearance and how I look means nothing to me in comparison to having a baby and starting a family.”

“My husband and I are so incredibly excited and overjoyed to announce that we have a baby on the way,” Jesinta wrote on her app, adding that the process of falling pregnant was not a simple one.

“The journey to get here hasn’t been easy and this little life is the greatest gift and we feel truly blessed and grateful that we will have a little angel of our own,” she said.

“We have both dreamt of this for a long time and whilst the last 2.5 years have been physically and emotionally challenging, there’s nothing we would change as it’s brought us to this beautiful moment,” Jesinta said.

Jesinta and husband Buddy, who plays AFL for the Sydney Swans started dating in 2012 and were married in 2016 in a low-key ceremony in the Blue Mountains.

While Buddy says it was love at first sight for him, Jesinta says the footy star wasn’t great at communicating his feelings at fist.

“I’m not even sure you’d call it dating,” Jesinta told Marie Claire of their initial courtship.

“It was spending lots of time together but it wasn’t romantic then, which was frustrating at times. I thought he was just after a bit of fun.”

But Buddy knew this was serious.

“I knew as soon as I met her that I wanted to marry her,” Buddy told the mag.

“As clichéd as that sounds, it was love at first sight for me.”

The Franklins now live in Sydney’s Rose Bay and last year Buddy, 32, celebrated his 300th game with the Sydney Swans, with Jesinta proudly sitting in the stands supporting her man’s big achievement.

The pair will soon be first-time parents and we can not wait to see what the future holds in store for their little family.