Joanna Page was initially worried about not loving her first child as much as her dog
Actress Joanna Page and her husband, actor James Thornton, welcomed their first child, daughter Eva, into the world in 2013, but the day before her birth, Joanna panicked that she would love her dog more than their girl.
Joanna Page initially feared she would not love her first child as much as her dog.
The night before Eva, 12, arrived in the world in 2013, the actress shared her worry to her 49-year-old husband, actor James Thornton, and he vowed to take care of their daughter.
However, James did not need to take on full parenting responsibilities as Joanna was instantly "devoted" to Eva.
Joanna told the new issue of Heat magazine: "The night before Eva was born, I said to James, 'What if I don't love her as much as I love the dog?'
"And he said, 'Don't worry, if you don't, I'll just do everything, and I'll look after the baby.'
"And then I had her, and I was just devoted."
Joanna and James - who got married in 2003 - went on to have sons Kit, 10, in 2015, and Noah, nine, in 2016, as well as another daughter called Boe, four, in 2021.
And the Gavin and Stacey star says she felt "broody" a few weeks after each of her and James' bundles of joy were born.
Joanna admitted: "Each time we had a baby, a couple of weeks later, I would start feeling broody again."
However, the Love Actually actress did not always have maternal instincts.
Joanna recalled: "It was just nature that did kick in. I got to age 28 and did not in the least bit feel broody.
"I just loved acting, and that's all I wanted to do. When James and I first met, I told him I didn't want to have children, and he said he thought that I would just come round to it naturally.
"I reached my 30s and thought, 'No. I don't particularly like children, not interested. I find them quite annoying.'
"And then, when I was 35, I literally woke up and thought, 'I have to have a baby.'
"James and I had been married for a good 10 years before we even thought about having children."
