Footballer Declan Rice has quietly confirmed the birth of his first child with long-term partner, Lauren Fryer.
On Sunday (21 August), the West Ham and England men’s team player debuted a new tattoo on his arm that appeared to detail the name and birth date of his newborn son.
The tattoo reads “Jude Rice”, along with the astrology symbol for Leo, the star sign for the month of August, and his son’s date of birth, 7 August, 2022.
The tattoo also has a quote that begins with “nothing”, but the rest is hidden behind Rice’s arm in pictures taken of him during a match against Brighton and Hove Albion on Sunday.
The tattoo’s debut comes six days after it was covered in a bandage during a match against Nottingham Forest.
Rice, 23, has been with girlfriend Fryer for six years, with the couple celebrating their six-year anniversary with a trip to restaurant Hutong in the Shard last year.
The private couple haven’t revealed any details about their newborn on social media, nor did they reveal that they were expecting a child.
Rice has previously made a comment about his girlfriend when he was joking that Fryer was jealous of his and Chelsea footballer Mason Mount’s friendship.
“My missus is quite worried. I’m genuinely being serious. She’s quite worried,” Rice told The Sun in 2019.
“Oh she’s just always: ‘You two . . . you love him more than you love me’. Honestly. We just get it in the neck all the time. But they need to understand the friendship.”
Mount and Rice are childhood friends from their time playing together at Chelsea’s academy.