Congratulations to Home and Away star Emily Symons, who plays Marilyn, who has announced that she is 15 weeks pregnant and will give birth to her first baby in August, close to her 46th birthday.

She split with husband Lorenzo Smith in 2005 after two failed IVF attempts. Her current partner Paul Jackson has three children — Tommy, Georgia and Grace — from a previous relationship and the couple went through more than one IVF cycle before ­Emily fell pregnant.

Emily said she had almost given up hope of ever becoming a Mum.

“I very much thought it couldn’t happen and I was too old,” Symons said.

“I thought it would be impossible but it isn’t. I’d given up really, I thought I had tried every avenue that was available to us. My ­advice is to not give up if you’re feeling a bit­ ­overwhelmed by the whole process.”