Gary Ablett and wife Jordan welcome third child, a boy

Former AFL star Gary Ablett and his wife Jordan have revealed the birth of their third child, who joins his brother Levi and sister Grace.

Former AFL star Gary Ablett Jr and his wife Jordan have announced the birth of their third child.

The baby boy, whose name they did not reveal, joins the couple’s son Levi and daughter Grace.

“Another treasured boy!” they said in a brief joint Instagram post on Sunday night, alongside an adorable black-and-white photo of Gary holding the baby.

Adorable. Picture: Instagram

The couple’s friends flooded the comments section with their congratulations.

“The most beautiful news. Congratulations fam,” said Demi Duncan, wife of Ablett’s fellow Geelong great Mitch Duncan.

“The best,” said another former Cats star Joel Selwood, with a string of hearts.

“Congratulations! Can’t wait to meet the newest addition,” said Emma Hawkins, wife of Geelong star Tom Hawkins.

“Congratulations,” said Bec Judd, along with a love heart emoji of her own.

“Congratulations guys!!” said former women’s AFL star Abbey Holmes.

“Congratulations! What wonderful news,” said journalist Jacqueline Felgate.

“The best news. Congratulations fam,” said journalist Emma Vosti.

“Oh he’s here. Have been thinking of your family. Sending lots of love to your precious bubble,” wrote another journalist, Anna Byrne.

Jordan and Levi Ablett.

Jordan Ablett.

The Abletts’ first son, Levi, is four years old and has a rare degenerative condition, which has given him a short life expectancy.

Levi was diagnosed with the disease in 2020, leaving him unable to speak. He is also vulnerable to aspirating, which is when food, drink or stomach contents can get into the lungs. This can cause lung damage and increases the risk of pneumonia.

Gary and Jordan have been open about the heartbreaking illness publicly in the hope that doing so will help other children.

“We’ve always had to blitz every bit of food for him, making sure it’s as smooth as possible so that it goes down correctly,” Jordan said last year.

“He has a wide team who monitor his health ... low muscle tone and a few other contributing factors (mean) he is far more prone to picking up viruses and unfortunately, does not have the capacity to fight them as well as others at his age.”

When Levi’s sister Grace was born in 2021 it brought joy to the family, as he adored her.

“He’s loving being a big brother and having a constant companion around,” Jordan said.

“Although it’s been the best thing being able to welcome a new family member, it’s been really challenging.

“It also already feels like a completely different parenting experience than when I became a mum for the first time.”

Gary with Levi. Picture: Instagram

Levi was at the centre of a deeply touching moment before last year’s AFL grand final, with Selwood, who was Geelong’s captain, carrying him through the banner with the team. The boy had a massive grin on his face.

“It meant so much to us as a family,” Gary told Channel 7 in June.

“I can still remember getting the call from Joel Selwood during the week, and him asking if he could run through the banner with Levi.

“I said ‘no’ to him.

“I felt like playing in a grand final, being a captain, I didn’t want him to have to focus on anything else.

“But he said to me, ‘No, I really want to do this. It would mean a lot to me.’ And when I told Jordy about it, she was in tears.

“And so to be there on that day and to be able to experience that with my family and the boys (was wonderful).”

“We weren’t sure how Levi was going to handle a stadium full of people. But he had a smile on his face the whole time. He loved it.

“And I was just so glad the boys went on to win that and Selwood got to become a premiership captain.”