Dressage star Charlotte Dujardin is expecting a baby girl early next year with Dean Golding, to whom she has been engaged and had an on-and-off relationship, which is very much “on” at the moment.
“Our hearts are already full of more love than we thought possible,” Charlotte stated on social media.
Dean and Charlotte at the baby’s gender reveal party. (Photo by Jess Photography)
The timing is good, as Charlotte just completed the world championships on the British silver medal team, and the European Championships aren’t until later in 2023. The Paris Olympics are in 2024, so she should be all set for competition after the baby is born.
After Charlotte took her last gold medal ride on Valegro at the 2016 Olympics, Dean was photographed with a sign that said, “Now will you marry me?” But the couple broke up in 2019 before reuniting last year.
Charlotte became Britain’s golden girl with double gold at the 2012 Olympics in London on Valegro. They continued as a winning combination through Rio, after which Valegro retired.
But Charlotte continued bringing in the medals, taking individual bronze in the Special on Mount St. John Freestyle at the 2018 world championships, and individual bronze on Gio at the Tokyo Olympics. Riding the very inexperienced Imhotep this month at the world championships in Denmark, she missed an individual medal but contributed to the team’s silver.