Fair City stars announce they are expecting their first baby together

Shane, who plays Gar Doyle on the RTÉ soap, met Connie, who stars as Zoe Allen, last summer and the pair immediately hit it off.

However, the couple, who had both had come out of long-term relationships, started as friends before romance eventually blossomed.

Now the pair are excited for the future after confirming their exciting news.

Connie told RSVP Magazine: "We found out about two weeks before Christmas, and it was the best present ever. It was an exciting Christmas for all the family.”

"We decided quite early on that we wanted to raise a family. We felt that deep connection."

The couple discovered they were expecting while Shane was preparing to take part in the latest series of Dancing with the Stars.

The actor, who was partnered with Laura Nolan on the show, has described Connie as his best friend and “rock”.

Today's News in 90 seconds - 2nd April 2024

Shane’s character Gar arrived in Carrigstown in December 2022 as the long lost brother of slain ladykiller Cian Howley.

“Opportunities like these are few and far between, so the actor in me is absolutely delighted to have the consistency and also just to play around with his character,” he told the Sunday World at the time.

Shane, who is 6’4, also told us that it was only in recent years that he grew into his looks.

“I didn’t grow up a good-looking dude.

“I spent my youth and my teens quite heavy, so it’s interesting to come full circle in my 30s.”

After going to the gym regularly and watching his diet he says he managed to change his body for the better.

“It was a mix of things,” he says. “I think I went in and out of fads of trying it, but the secret unfortunately is just hard work and consistency, just doing a little quite often for the last year and a half.

“During Covid especially I started looking after myself a little better, and just looking after the body has really looked after everything else. It kept my mind sharp, it made me a little more commercially viable and it just keeps me in a much happier place all the time as well.”