Champion jockey Michelle Payne has stunned her fans by revealing she’s expecting her first child with partner Gabriel Ribeiro at the age of 40.
Payne revealed the beautiful news on Instagram on Saturday, posting a picture of her with Ribeiro accompanied by an ultrasound image of their baby and the caption ‘Little love is coming’ with a par of heart emojis.
The hoop – who made history in 2015 when she became the first woman to ride to victory in the race that stops a nation – is usually very tight-lipped about her private life.
‘Little love is coming,’ Payne wrote, tagging Ribeiro in the post.
The racing icon has largely kept herprivate life out of the spotlight, but the announcement is the start of a new chapter for her.
Payne and Ribeiro have been together for just over year after the pair met through mutual friends in racing circles.
Michelle Payne and Gabriel Ribeiro have announced they are expecting their first child
The pair met through friends in the racing circle and have been together for just over a year
Payne captured the attention of the nation when she made history becoming the first woman to win the Melbourne Cup back in 2015
The pair confirmed their relationship back then following a trip to Bali and have since been living togeth on Payne’s farm.
Payne’s racing career was littered with incredible moments, none more so than when she made history, winning the 2015 Melbourne Cup.
The 40-year-old then followed that win with an unforgettable speech, hitting back at critics of female jockeys.
‘I want to say to everyone else, get stuffed because they think women aren’t strong enough, but we just beat the world,’ a beaming Payne said in the minutes after her win.
Payne famously offered to sell the family farm she has shared with her beloved brother Stevie so that he could pursue a new chapter with his girlfriend.
Payne and Stevie had lived on the property since buying it together in 2013, with Stevie owning a third of the farm and residing in a cottage behind the main homestead.
But after finding love, Stevie set his sights on spending more time with Katherine, prompting a major lifestyle decision for one of racing’s most famous families.
“Stevie was exploring moving to Melbourne to be closer to his girlfriend, which is fair enough,” Payne told News Corp.
The development came less than a year after Stevie publicly revealed he had found love with Katherine, whom he met on a dancefloor at a racing gala event.
In an interview last year, Stevie described Katherine as his ‘best friend and my girlfriend’ and said he had ‘never been happier’.
‘Our favourite thing is dancing together,’ he said.
‘We met on the dance floor. She makes me really happy. I love dancing and we love dancing together.’
The relationship has won the approval of Michelle, who has long shared an extraordinarily close bond with her younger brother.
The siblings have shared much of their lives together, growing up in the famous Payne racing family and dreaming of one day winning the Melbourne Cup.
Michelle has often spoken about the support Stevie provided throughout her career and how special it was to have him by her side during the defining moment of her life.
