Michael van Gerwen‘s ex-wife Daphne Govers has revealed she is pregnant and expecting to give birth in January – just seven months after splitting up with the darts star – as she admitted she had made ‘a mistake’.
Three-time world champion van Gerwen, 36, revealed in May with ‘great sadness’ that he and the mother of his two children had separated after more than a decade of marriage.
The Dutchman withdrew from tournaments and enjoyed a summer off while he dealt with the break-up and later told Dutch news outlet AD that he ‘couldn’t write this script myself’.
And now, Daphne has given an interview of her own, telling Dutch TV channel Shownieuws that she is having a ‘miracle’ child with her new boyfriend Robert next month.
‘I didn’t expect it. I was at the hospital with the other two, too,’ Daphne said. ‘I couldn’t have gotten pregnant naturally. If it does happen, it’ll be a miracle.
‘My world was completely turned upside down. How am I going to handle this? But in the end, it all worked out. It’s more than welcome.’
Michael van Gerwen’s ex-wife Daphne has announced that she will give birth in January
It comes just seven months after the pair, who were married for more than 10 years, split up
‘Of course a mistake was made on my part,’ she continued. ‘Everyone knows that. We don’t have to hide that. I’d rather keep the story private.’
When asked about how van Gerwen feels about the pregnancy, she replied: ‘I wouldn’t dare say. I don’t think very happy, but I really don’t know.’
Coming into this year’s World Darts Championship at Ally Pally, van Gerwen said he was ready to put his ‘worst year’ behind him.
He spent his summer off attending festivals such as Tomorrowland and also went out in Ibiza, where he watched a Martin Garrix concert in the famous beach club Ushuaia.
‘I’m just human, you know,’ the Dutchman previously told AD. ‘At some point, you want to think about nice things again, not just be preoccupied with the mess you’re experiencing at that moment.
‘I couldn’t write this script myself, so I’ll have to deal with it in a way I think is right. You could just sit around and grieve all day, but that’s pointless. So you do fun things, take time for yourself.’
Some suggested he was taking his eye off the ball by spending so much time away, but van Gerwen refuted such claims and said: ‘I was just on holiday with my kids in Ibiza, you know. Yes, I did go out for a day, but doesn’t everyone do that?
‘People emphasize that, but what others say about it doesn’t really matter to me. They should just experience what I went through… you have to get on with your life and find closure, even though that’s easier said than done.’
Daphne is the mother of van Gerwen’s two children and has often accompanied him to events
Van Gerwen is a three-time world champion and has been bullish about his chances this year
The 36-year-old has been bullish about his chances at this year’s World Championship, even saying he ‘does not care’ about Luke Littler and Luke Humphries until he faces one of them.
‘I don’t care about Luke and Luke at this moment,’ van Gerwen said. ‘I just need to concentrate myself on my own performance. I can’t meet them until the semi-finals and final anyway.’
First, however, he will have to overcome debutant Arno Merk in the third-round before a potential fourth-round clash against Gary Anderson.
Van Gerwen has won the World Championship in 2014, 2017, and 2019. He was beaten in last year’s final by Littler.
