Footy commentator Abbey Holmes gearing up for the arrival of her first baby

While many mums-to-be may already have put their feet up in preparation for giving birth, popular footy commentator Abbey Holmes is showing no signs of slowing down as she awaits the arrival of her first baby.

Abbey Holmes has earned a new nickname which gives a hint into how she’ll handle her first pregnancy.

The footy commentator who spearheads boundary line coverage for Channel 7 has been sporting a growing baby bump that will pop in June.

While many mums-to-be may already have put their feet up in preparation for giving birth, Holmes has continued to work because she knows no other way.

“Everyone calls me captain chaos because I love the hustle and the grind,’’ she says.

“I genuinely love to work and it brings me so much joy and fulfilment. I love to be busy and my mentality at the moment is I’ll work as far up as I can.”

Holmes won’t use much maternity leave for her baby boy, intending to be back on television “as quickly as I can”.

Channel 7 AFL commentator Abbey Holmes says she genuinely loves coming to work. Picture: David Caird

From conception to now, it’s been a whirlwind for her and husband Keegan Brooksby. They didn’t find out about the baby until Holmes was 12 weeks in for various reasons, namely because not getting a period was not unusual for her.

“It’s funny how it played out because we were preparing to have a bit of trouble,’’ Holmes says.

“I’ve played so much sport, I’ve done Survivor twice and I had just run a marathon in New York (before finding out).

“I’d never had a regular period, I can go 90 days or 40 days without one. We actually went and saw a fertility doctor not knowing how it would go. We went from not knowing, to 12 weeks, to finding out the gender.

“It was all a bit of a shock.”

Holmes and now husband Keegan Brooksby when they became engaged at Uluru in 2020. Picture: Supplied

Holmes, who played AFLW for Adelaide and was a member of the inaugural season and premiership, had her career cut short due to injury.

She turned her focus to the media and plied her trade through the VFL. It wasn’t long until she rose to prominence through outstanding performance.

Husband Brooksby, who played 15 games with the Gold Coast and Hawthorn, works with the Hawks’ AFLW team.

“We’ve both been so busy this year so it’s really gone quick as a flash,’’ Holmes says. “We’re just going on the fly – we’ve never had a baby before – and we don’t have family here in Melbourne so we’ll take it as it comes.

“I’ve felt great and we’ll get through the first one and see how we go. We certainly do envisage having more children, three might be ideal for me. Keegan’s dad is a twin and I always saw myself as a boy mum. As first-time parents you just want a safe birth and a happy and healthy baby. I love being pregnant.”

Holmes and Brooksby told their families the happy news over Christmas and will take some time off together after the birth. But due to the AFLW pre-season, it won’t be too long for Brooksby.

Holmes says she has always seen herself as “a boy mum”. Picture: Diana Brandt

Holmes has leant on strong role model women around her for support, including her former Survivor castmate and businesswoman Janine Allis.

“She’s always said life doesn’t stop around you,’’ Holmes says.

“I’ve had a lot of great support, we’ve soaked up every moment and we feel very lucky.”

Another strong mentor for Holmes has been her Channel 7 colleague and fellow commentator Dale Thomas. Their usual pre-game kick to kick has had to take a back seat but their rapport is as strong as ever.

Thomas, who is also expecting a child with his wife Natasha, says it’s been a joy to share special moments with Holmes.

“Channel 7 might be providing a creche over the finals period,’’ Thomas says.

“It may well be a possibility with a baby that requires feeding. Abs has always got a smile on her face and she looks absolutely adorable.

“It’s not surprising the level of work she’s continued at.

“She’s an absolute pro and it’s great to see her go as long as she can.”

The Channel 7 Friday night team Alister Nicholson, Matthew Richardson, James Brayshaw, Abbey Holmes, Dale Thomas and Tom Mitchell. Picture: Michael Klein

Thomas says he and Holmes had largely honed their craft together covering footy, and he admires her strong work ethic.

“More on Thursday nights we’ve become a lot closer,’’ he says. “In the hosting position Abs was somewhat new to the role and we’ve gone through that together.

“We’re learning on the fly and what she’s doing is working her backside off and a lot of people see the outcome with her great reporting and great coverage. It is always good fun.”

Holmes is grateful for the support of her work family, many of whom attended her baby shower at the start of May.

“We’ve got a shortlist of names at the moment,’’ she says.

Holmes says she can’t wait for the adventures ahead. Picture: David Caird

“People say you just wait and see what clicks when you meet the baby, but we certainly do have a favourite. We got married at the end of 2023 and I still haven’t legally got around to changing my name. So we haven’t done too much preparation but we are ready.”

While she continues to work and push herself to the limit, Holmes often gets reminders that her life is about to change.

“I’m eating a lot of pasta and feta, lots of salads and I just want feta on everything,’’ she says. “English muffins as well, I could eat 17 of them a day.

“And my wardrobe has certainly changed. It’s been difficult to find comfortable things but we’re fortunate to have incredible stylists and there’s always four bags there with options for me. It’s only really hit me in the last week or two that I am actually pregnant – we can’t wait for all the adventures ahead.”

Originally published as Footy commentator Abbey Holmes gearing up for the arrival of her first baby