Laurie Williams and Robyn Love on pregnancy: 'A baby seems to bring light to things'

Laurie Williams and Robyn Love are set to have a child next year

A tiny pair of shoes, placed in front of a board bearing a few simple words: 'Baby Love. Due April 2023.'

With that one post on Instagram, Laurie Williams and Robyn Love - the British wheelchair basketball stars who went viral after announcing their engagement in 2020 - threatened to break the internet once more. This time, it was with the news that Williams was pregnant.

"So many people that we haven't even met before are reaching out and saying 'congratulations'," Love says with a smile.

"A baby seems to bring light to things, and any time something positive happens, I really do think it's important that it's celebrated. We're really grateful we can offer a little something out into the world."

Williams adds: "It still doesn't seem real.

"This is going to be our last Christmas without pooey nappies and vomit… we're thinking of what we do to make the most of it!"

'You do 'rock, paper, scissors' to decide who is having IVF first!'

Like many parents-to-be, Love and Williams are eager to share their journey with the world.

And as a same-sex couple navigating the challenges of prospective parenthood, the pair are particularly keen to talk about their story, in the hope it might help others who are going through the same thing.

"It's been something we always talked about once we'd got to a certain phase of our relationship," Williams says.

"We're in a really good position to start a family, but when you're in a same-sex relationship, it can take lots more planning, potentially. We had to go down the path of IVF and knew it could take quite a lot of time, but fortunately for us, it worked first time. It was still a lot of hard work and it wasn't an easy journey to go through, but it happened nicely for us in terms of timings."

When going through IVF, there was also the discussion as to who would carry the baby.

Love laughs: "First of all, you've got to do 'rock, paper, scissors' for who is going to go first between you.

"And it was a natural choice for it to be Laurie - it felt right between us. But I was certainly overwhelmed by the amount of options available. We were very fortunate that we got the NHS route, so we're really grateful for the opportunity."

'We found a toilet in Morrisons, and that's where we found out'

Williams and Love were Great Britain wheelchair basketball team-mates at the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo

At first, the couple told only a handful of relatives and close friends about their decision to start a family.

"We didn't want that disappointment if it didn't work out first time," Love admits.

"It's a scary thing. There are a lot of expectations and things Laurie has had to put her body through - and if at the end of it she didn't become pregnant, it could be quite a rollercoaster.

"For both of us being athletes, we never expect success and we don't want to celebrate until that finish line is crossed."

That moment came this summer.

"I was at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, representing Scotland," Love says.

"Laurie and I met to get a coffee and were just looking for somewhere to do the pregnancy test where we wouldn't be interrupted, to be honest.

"So we found a toilet in Morrisons supermarket, and that's where we found out… and it was a bit surreal, bizarre! You know, I'm at the Commonwealth Games, going through this crazy experience, so to have that positive result on that day was just fantastic."

'It can make you a better performer'

Love and Williams have long felt it's important to use their platforms to encourage inclusivity in sport, both as para-athletes and members of the LGBTQ+ community.

As parents-to-be, they plan to keep doing that.

"The representation is getting better and better," Williams says.

"Things keep popping up on my Instagram of children who come from all sorts of different families, whether it's single-parent or same-sex.

"It's just great and more stuff should be like that, because children don't mind.

"They just want to be loved and looked after and treated with kindness - and hopefully, we'll show the world that, whoever you've chosen to start a family with, if you can give a child those things, that's the most important thing."

It's not just LGBTQ+ parents who the couple hope to inspire with their story, but any woman looking to balance motherhood with a career in elite sport.

"There are so many examples now of women who are taking time away to have children," Love says.

"I think nowadays, the sporting bodies are working out how to make it work so that kids can come on camps and tournaments, and not be a hinderance - but that being a mum and being present with your child can actually make you a better performer.

"That's the sort of area in sport that's going to adapt or change.

"At least, I hope that it is."

Robyn Love and Laurie Williams were speaking to Jack Murley on the BBC's LGBT Sport Podcast. You can hear new episodes every Wednesday on BBC Sounds.