By Sam Creighton for the Daily Mail
Published: 18:30 EST, 17 August 2014 | Updated: 19:34 EST, 17 August 2014
After years of struggle, stress and heartache, Martine McCutcheon accepted she might never become a mother.
But having battled through depression and ill-health, the former EastEnders star longed for nothing more than to start a family with her husband, musician Jay McManus, 30.
And, against the odds, that wish could be answered, as the actress, 38, tells Hello! magazine she is three and a half months pregnant with a little boy.
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Congratulations: Martine McCutcheon and husband, musician Jay McManus reveal that they are three months pregnant
Martine said the shock news has brought the couple 'a joy we never knew existed' but admitted she had almost resigned herself to being childless.
She told the publication: 'We'd always said that if we were fortunate to be blessed with a child, that would be wonderful, but we were very aware that it's not a given.
'As a woman in her late 30s who's experienced health problems, I thought I might have to accept that it wasn't a path my life was going to take, but it would have been a great sadness in our lives if that had been the case.'
Delighted: Martine (pictured in February) said the shock news has brought the couple 'a joy we never knew existed' but admitted she had almost resigned herself to being childless
The baby is due on Valentine's Day next year and has provided a ray of hope after Miss McCutcheon's seven year fight against chronic fatigue syndrome and depression.
Her poor health became so severe that she was unable to work – she did not appear in any film of television productions between Echo Beach in 2008 and Let's Get Gold in 2012 – leading to her being declared bankrupt last year.
In the interview, which goes on sale today, she said: 'It was a terrible time in our lives but you discover who your friends are and we found amazing support from people who really came through for us.
Speaking out: She said: 'As a woman in her late 30s who's experienced health problems, I thought I might have to accept that it wasn't a path my life was going to take, but it would have been a great sadness in our lives if that had been the case'
'It's like finally the tides have turned. Great things are starting to happen on the work front, but more
Read the full interview in this week's edition of Hello! magazine
than anything, expecting our baby boy has given us clarity about what matters.'
Miss McCutcheon sprang to fame aged 18, playing Tiffany Mitchell in EastEnders. After leaving the BBC soap in 1998, she began carving out a successful film career, appearing opposite Robert Downey Jr in Hollywood blockbuster Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and alongside Hugh Grant in the Richard Curtis penned Love Actually.
However, she found herself becoming increasingly frail and has spoken previously of collapsing 20 times and piling on more than two stone of weight. However, doctors were baffled by her condition.
She said 'life felt like hell every day' and even considered committing suicide. She declared herself bankrupt in January 2013, owing £187,000.
She has finally regained her health – something she says she could not have done without the support of Mr McManus, who she married in 2012 – and last year began thinking about starting a family, saying at the time: 'I love kids and this has made me realise I'd love to have children.
'I now know that I'll be well enough to take care of them and be able to have that choice but I just want to get myself and my body back to normal first.
''It is all a work in progress. I haven't got a timeframe on it. One thing I am trying really hard not to do is put any pressure on myself.'
Read the full interview in this week's edition of Hello! magazine.
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