Former couple Ben Foden and Una Healy were the proudest of parents as their daughter made her First Holy Communion.
The former Saturdays star posted a picture of their daughter on her Instagram page. In the image, Aoife, who is nine, is standing in front of a full-length mirror decorated with pastel-coloured balloons.
She looked the image of her mum Una as she posed in the traditional white dress with matching white gloves and handbag before participating in the Roman Catholic ceremony.
The mum of two, who turns 40 today, wrote: “Happy First Holy Communion to my darling girl Aoife Belle” and shared with her 647,000 followers.
Because of work commitments and restrictions surrounding travel, the 36 year old dad wasn’t able to attend Aoife’s big day. Instead, Ben posted a sweet message under the photo, writing: “Aoife is growing up too fast, happy Holy Communion. X"
Una and Ben broke up in 2018 after six years of marriage and two children. He has since remarried and emigrated to the USA where he plays rugby for Rugby United New York (RUNY).
The 36-year-old sportsman married his current wife, Jackie Belanoff Smith, within two weeks of ‘seriously dating’ in 2019. They have a one-year-old daughter, Farrah, together.
At the time Ben told Hello magazine: “The world has a funny way of working things out, many people think I'm a bad person - as I'm sure there’ll be many nasty comments left under this post by keyboard warriors a plenty. But I met a girl who seriously swept me off my feet and in a time of hardship showed me love, a deep devoted love. "
He continued: "People will say we are mad or crazy or even fools, as @snackyjax and I had only been dating seriously for a little over two weeks before deciding to get married. But when someone like her comes into your life, why would I wait?"
Jackie revealed that the whole family were devastated in the summer because Aoife and her little brother, Tadgh, six, weren't allowed to travel to the USA to visit their dad and their new half sister.
She wrote on Instagram: "Having to break these poor babies' hearts who had their hopes up for a fun summer with their dad and sister, we are all not okay right now."
And she praised Ben's former wife Una, for her support, saying: "Una was a rockstar with them, they were on the phone with their dad. Both Una and he calmed them down. "
But she admitted she had also been disappointed at the change of plans, adding: "I am very much not okay and I am a complete mess."
Instead, Ben is due to fly to Ireland where Una lives with their children once he has finished his season at RUNY.
The singer was recently diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder called Hashimoto's and she revealed that she will need to take medication for life in order to alleviate her symptoms.
According to the NHS, this condition occurs when your body is unable to produce enough thyroid hormone. This leads to symptoms of an underactive thyroid gland such as tiredness, weight gain and dry skin. The swollen thyroid may also cause a goitre (lump) to form in your throat.
Her fellow Saturdays band mate Rochelle Humes also slammed rumours of a possible reunion, saying she'd "checked out" of the group ever reforming.
The Saturdays, made up of Rochelle, Una, Mollie King and Vanessa White were formed in 2007. They had hits with What About Us, Forever is Over and All Fired Up, before going on an extended break in 2014.
