'A magical experience': Love Island's Grant Crapp opens up about becoming a father

Reality TV star Grant Crapp and long-term partner Lucy Cartwright announced the birth of their first child, a baby girl, last week and say they can’t wait to do it all again.

Charli Zoe Crapp was born on 19 April, at 1:29 am, in Moruya Hospital, and the family returned to their Batemans Bay home two days later.

Grant says it’s been “a magical experience” and he feels more in love with Lucy than ever.

“I started crying as soon as I heard Charli cry for the first time,” he says. “I couldn’t hold it in. It was one of those moments when time stopped.”

It’s been a difficult 12 months for Grant, 25, and Lucy, 24, after their newly renovated home was largely destroyed by bushfire on New Year’s Eve 2019. Then more recently, Grant’s grandfather and Lucy’s dog passed away.

“It’s been a lot of negativity,” says the Love Island star. “So having Charli come along, it’s like a diamond in the rough. She shines bright and everyone is drawn to her. Even for my mum and grandma, who lost her husband, seeing Charli has made their year.”

The couple has also come under fire since Grant ended his relationship with Love Island’s Tayla Damir to get back with former girlfriend Lucy.

However, announcing their pregnancy in January 2021, and now Charli’s arrival, has shown critics the couple’s relationship is stronger than ever.

Grant says the first photo he shared of Charli on Instagram cracked 21,000 likes.

“I get a lot of negative comments, but this has been unreal,” he says. “I’ve been getting support from everywhere – people in Germany, Japan, Pakistan, India… it’s crazy.”

Charli is a name both Grant and Lucy liked, and one they would have used to call a baby boy, while Zoe is Lucy’s sister’s name.

“I also liked the name Zoe and it’s nice to tie in someone in the family,” says Grant. “We called Zoe to tell her and she was very emotional. It suits Charli very well.”

Lucy was at home when she went into labour with Charli at 5:00 pm on Sunday, 18 April.

“Around 5:00 pm she went and had a bath,” says Grant. “She said her stomach was getting really sore so we started timing the contractions which were getting closer and closer. So I said, ‘Alright sweetheart, I think we’d better bounce to the hospital.'”

Grant admits to even shedding a tear on the way to the hospital.

“I knew deep down it was happening because the contractions were every three minutes,” he says. “I never cry, but something got inside of me. I was like, ‘Wow, this is actually happening.'”

Lucy was in labour for nine hours, but Grant says “it felt like three years”.

“Watching my partner in so much pain was one of the worst things, and at the same time, it was very magical,” he says. “She was looking at me saying, ‘Never again.'”

However, Grant says there are “definitely more [children] on the cards”.

“She’s already over it [the labour],” he says with a laugh.

Grant says he has a newfound respect for women after seeing Lucy give birth to Charli.

“It’s unbelievable – women and how they turn into these natural mothers,” he says. “It blows me away. Us males should be very grateful. We get the easy part and women get the hard part.”

Apart from a couple of sleepless nights – which every new parent expects – Grant says Charli has been a wonder.

“She’s unbelievable,” he says. “We’ve had a sleepless night here and there, but I’ve been making it my job to get up when I can to let Lucy sleep.”

Grant has taken a couple of weeks off work and the new parents are well supported by Lucy’s mother, Kim Treasure, who lives nearby in Batemans Bay, and Grant’s parents who live in Canberra.

“Having Kim around is probably the best thing because sometimes you do need a little bit of support,” says Grant. “Mothers gave birth to all of us and you can’t get any better advice than from someone who’s been through it before.

“There’s been a few times when Charli’s been distressed and Kim knows straight away what to do. She’s been so helpful.”