Aussie surfing legend Mick Fanning’s major baby announcement
Finally Mick Fanning and his fiancee Breeana Randall have something to smile about, celebrating a new arrival just weeks after the surf icon lost his third brother.
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Australian surfing legend Mick Fanning and his fiancee Breeana Randall have surprised fans with a major announcement.
The couple took to social media on Tuesday to share the news they had welcomed their second child into the world, after revealing they were expecting in December last year.
“Lyla Skye Fanning 4/4/24,” the couple wrote in a joint Instagram post, alongside a picture of their newborn daughter, just five days after her birth.
It comes just a month after Fanning’s brother Ed died of a severe infection after a cut to a wound became infected while he was working at the Madasurf camp in the African island.
The social media post announcing the baby joy was quickly flooded with comments from excited friends, family, fans and sporting celebrities including fellow surfers Alana Blanchard and Stephanie Gilmore.
“Congratulations! OMG she’s so precious,” Blanchard wrote on the post. “Congratulations,” Gilmore wrote also.
The pair first announced they were expecting in a separate social media post, which included a photograph of American Ms Randall’s belly and the simple caption, “Hi.”
This is the couple’s second child, after Ms Randall gave birth to their son Xander Dean in August 2020, following another special pregnancy announcement with a twist in February.
As the pair took part in a photo shoot at Dreamtime Beach for the baby announcement for their first child, 42 – year old Fanning also got down on one knee.
“Yesterday was one of those incredible days! @breeanablue and I went to shoot some baby announcement photos and then this happened! This beautiful woman has stolen my heart and I’m so excited to create a beautiful family with her. Bub is due in August. So excited to start this new chapter with a person I truly admire and love,” he wrote alongside a photo of the couple, the engagement ring and their dog Harper.
Early in 2023, the three-time world surfing champion said fatherhood had finally forced him to slow down, reassess his priorities and what success means, despite his post-sport business empire, including craft-beer company Balter which sold for around $150 million in 2019.
After winning world titles in 2007, 2009 and 2013, Fanning now concedes these triumphs came at a steep personal cost.
“I couldn’t even be in a room and have a beer or a meal with someone without thinking, ‘How is this going to affect me tomorrow?’
The death of Ed Fanning just weeks ago left Mick as the sole surviving Fanning brother — his older sibling Sean died in a car crash, aged 20, in 1998. Another brother, Peter, died due to complications related to this heart in 2015.
A tribute from Gold Coast-based Kirra Surfriders Club, where Ed and Mick hold life memberships, said the 48-year-old Ed was rushed by boat and admitted to a hospital in the nearest major city, however Ed suffered cardiac complications as a result of the infection.
Fanning shared a heartfelt farewell for his older brother on social media, reflecting on an emotional memorial service held, which saw mourners on surfboards paddled into the waves of Snapper Rocks – a famous surf break in Coolangatta Queensland.
“I want to thank my family and friends for all the amazing support they have shown not only me but everyone that loved Ed,” Mr Fanning shared on Instagram.
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