Peter Andre defends Molly-Mae Hague and Tommy Fury naming their daughter Bambi: ‘It’s a personal choice’
Peter Andre has defended Molly-Mae Hague and Tommy Fury after they gave their newborn daughter an unusual name.
The couple, who met on 2019’s Love Island, caused a mixed reaction when they announced that they had named their first child Bambi.
In light of the chatter online, Andre, 49, called the name “cute” in his new column with OK! Magazine.
The TV personality also admitted that he’s “not one to talk about giving your child an alternative name” given his son and daughter with his first wife, Katie Price, have unusual monikers, Princess and Junior.
The Mysterious Girl singer wrote: “Molly-Mae Hague and Tommy Fury split opinion last week by naming their baby girl Bambi. Now, I am not one to talk about giving your child an alternative name when my kids are called Princess and Junior!
“However, a child’s name is a personal choice. Bambi is a cute little deer, at the end of the day! I just think, why not? It’s up to them. Everyone else can have their opinion but it’s irrelevant.”
He continued: “Molly-Mae and Tommy show me there are some great things about Love Island because they’ve stayed together and been hugely successful. All power to them! If they love the name Bambi, that’s all that matters.”
Bambi is of Italian origin and is thought to derive from the word “bambino,” which means “child”.
It is also the name of a 1942 Disney animation, which was based on a book written by Austrian author Felix Salten more than 20 years earlier. It is about a baby deer (called Bambi) whose mother is shot by a human. It follows his journey to adulthood as he takes his place as the prince of the forest.
The former Atomic Kitten singer, Kerry Katona, 42, was among those criticising Hague and Fury’s choice of name. She said she was not “a fan”.
“Molly-Mae Hague and Tommy Fury announced the birth of their daughter last week. It’s lovely news, but I must admit I’m not a fan of the name,” Katona wrote in her OK! column.
“I think Bambi Fury sounds a bit ridiculous. It reminds me of the Disney film where the mother gets shot! The poor kid might get some stick in school.
“If they haven’t registered the name yet, maybe they should consider changing it. But each to their own.”
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After announcing their little one’s name on Instagram last week, Hague disabled comments on the post. She previously said she thought that people might “hate” her choice of name.
“It’s not made up, it’s totally not made up, I can’t explain it,” the PrettyLittleThing creative director, who like Fury is 23, said. “It’s just not a name that’s ever been used before. It’s very very different and rare and you’re either going to love it or hate it.
“I’ve had the name picked out since I was a baby girl myself. It’s always been a dream baby girl name and luckily when I met Tommy and I told him the name I’ve always dreamt of using, he absolutely loved it too.
“It’s a really really unusual and a different name, I do not know anybody else with the name. I’ve not seen any other girls with the name before, it’s that different.”
