Jamie Laing shares his vision for a larger family with wife Sophie Habboo while critiquing overprotective modern parenting trends.
Welcoming Ziggy and Family Goals
The former Made in Chelsea stars, Jamie Laing, 37, and Sophie Habboo, 31, celebrated the arrival of their son Ziggy in December 2025. They captured the intense birth experience in their three-part Disney+ series, Raising Chelsea, which chronicles their journey into first-time parenthood.
Laing envisions expanding their family to four children. He explains, “Our son was born in December, so we’re juggling the joys of new parenthood at the moment, which is a wild ride. I can’t really think beyond that… but I’d go for four, potentially. I’ve heard that going from one to two is a big adjustment. Then from two to three is, like, whatever. Once you have three you may as well have ten.”
Building Resilience in Children
Laing stresses the importance of fostering independence and toughness in kids, warning against excessive sheltering. “If I fell off my bike as a kid it was, pick yourself up and let’s keep going. I actually think that’s a really good thing to instil in kids. Modern-day parenting is a bit too mollycoddling,” he states.
He calls for balance in parenting approaches. “In some ways my mum’s parenting style was probably to leave me in a pram underneath a tree. I don’t think that’s necessarily a good idea. But also, it’s OK for your child to be stung by a nettle — it’s not going to kill them. It’s a balance, of course.”
Emergency Birth Challenges
The couple encountered sudden complications during labor, leading to an emergency C-section at the prestigious Lindo Wing of St Mary’s Hospital. Laing recalls the ordeal as “the scariest thing I have ever been through in my entire life. Watching your wife go through that, the person you love, and this baby, and you have no control. It was the most terrifying thing ever.”
Habboo reflects, “The complications were really scary. Obviously, it wasn’t the birth I planned or necessarily wanted, it was scary, but birth is different for every woman and however you do it is incredible and he’s here and he’s healthy and they were incredible.”
Capturing the Emotional Footage
Habboo initially insisted on privacy for the birth, saying, “I’ll be honest, I said, ‘I’m really sorry guys, I really don’t want the birth to be filmed, I really need that moment to be a private moment’.” However, their anaesthetist unexpectedly filmed an 11-minute video using their phone during the procedure.
Reviewing the raw footage the next day proved transformative. Laing shares, “Sophie and I didn’t know it was being filmed because it was supposed to be for our own personal use, but watching it I was like, ‘oh my God, Soph, look how in love we are’, you’re seeing it from an outside perspective.”
The couple decided to feature it in the series. Laing now admires all mothers, stating, “I now salute all women, I walk down the street and if I see a woman with a pram I’m like, you hero. It’s unbelievable.”
