Baby joy for AFL superstar Marcus Bontempelli and new wife Neila months after overseas wedding

Western Bulldogs AFL superstar Marcus Bontempelli and wife Neila have announced they are expecting their first child.

The couple tied the knot in October last year, hosting their wedding at a luxury ranch in the Napa Valley in California.

The Bontempellis are now ready to welcome a new addition after sharing the news of their pregnancy on Instagram.

A video filmed at home showed the couple cutting open a cake by the pool to reveal the gender: a girl.

“Yay!!! Congratulations guys. Fab news x,” Channel 7’s Abbey Holmes said.

Carlton captain Patrick Cripps, who will verse Bontempelli as WA captain in this weekend’s State of Origin revival, wrote: “Congrats guys.”

Lexi Lobb, the wife of Bulldogs defender Rory, also offered her congratulations alongside Dogs greats Bob Murphy, Mitch Wallis and Lindsay Gilbee.

Bontempelli and Neila, a Canadian who previously played in Australia’s ice hockey league, met in WA after the Bulldogs’ 2021 grand final defeat to Melbourne.

“It was a bit of a silver lining after the loss as I was a bit down and out on myself,” Bontempelli told Triple M on Monday.

“I was pretty busted up and broken, she put me back together, which was great.”

He proposed in Italy during the 2024 off-season before they headed back overseas for the bucks and hens parties in Las Vegas before the destination wedding.

Bontempelli is the second AFL star this week to announce he is becoming a father.

Brisbane premiership star Charlie Cameron and wife Caitlin also revealed their pregnancy news with a video on Instagram.

“Mum + dad,” they wrote.

Jules Neale was among those to celebrate the news, joining Cameron’s Lions teammate Kai Lohmann and former Crows mate Taylor Walker.