Gaëlle Garcia Diaz and Daan De Pever: marriage, parenthood and vow renewal

As a CBT practitioner, in the article that follows I look at what the fatigue linked to the arrival of a second child can change in a couple's communication and intimacy, based on the recent public sequence of Gaëlle Garcia Diaz and Daan De Pever — fatigue declared after the birth of their second son, then a renewal of their vows a few months later. If you want to see more clearly into your own exchanges with your partner since your child arrived, ScanMyLove, our relationship conversation analysis tool, lets you observe, from your real messages, how this fatigue shows up in your couple communication; and if this theme speaks to you, I designed a test on couple intimacy after a child that explores the impact of fatigue, the time rediscovered together and what helps you reconnect.

Gaëlle Garcia Diaz is one of the most followed Belgian content creators, with a YouTube channel that exceeds two million subscribers. Her couple life with Daan De Pever, widely documented by the Belgian and French press since their marriage in 2021, offers a rare case: that of a heavily media-exposed couple who chose to speak publicly about the fatigue linked to the arrival of a second child, before celebrating their union five years later. This sequence — a declaration of fatigue, then a vow renewal — makes it possible to address a well-documented phenomenon in couple psychology: the effect of the transition to parenthood on marital communication. That is precisely what I explore in my book Sauver son couple, on the communication that allows a couple to get through this kind of transition without fatigue turning into distance.

Who is Daan De Pever, Gaëlle Garcia Diaz's husband?

Daan De Pever is a former Belgian footballer. He married Gaëlle Garcia Diaz, born on 26 December 1988 in Ixelles, on 8 May 2021. Gaëlle Garcia Diaz, known for her YouTube channel launched in 2016 and for her cosmetics brand Martine Cosmetics, is presented in the Belgian and French press as one of the most popular content creators in the country, with media coverage that extends beyond Belgium's borders, notably in France.

A marriage documented since 2021, a family that grows

The couple has two sons: Jake Dean, born in June 2022, and Joe-Lewis, born on 29 January 2025. The arrival of this second child, a little under three years after the first, puts the couple in a configuration familiar to many households: two young children close in age, with the logistical load and lack of sleep that this implies in the first months.

A public declaration of fatigue after the birth of the second son

In the weeks following the birth of Joe-Lewis, Gaëlle Garcia Diaz posted a message on her Instagram account in which she described herself, and her husband, as "at the end of their rope" after a week marked by broken nights. This statement, picked up by the celebrity press, is to date reported by only one identified secondary source — it must therefore be read as an occasional confidence from her about her own experience, and not as a fact cross-checked by several independent media outlets at the same level as the other events of this file, such as the wedding or the vow renewal.

In this same message, she states that the couple's closeness remains intact despite this fatigue. Again, this is a statement from her, not a finding established from the outside: nothing in the available sources allows — or authorizes — going beyond what she herself says about it.

What psychology says about parental fatigue and couple communication

Independently of the case of Gaëlle Garcia Diaz and Daan De Pever, the period following the birth of a child — and even more so of a second one — has long been identified in couple psychology as a phase of marital vulnerability. Several documented mechanisms combine:

• Sleep deprivation reduces the emotional regulation capacity of both parents, which makes exchanges more easily irritable, even between partners who are otherwise satisfied with their relationship.
• The redistribution of the domestic and parental load between the two members of the couple, often renegotiated in a rush, is a frequent source of tension if it remains implicit rather than discussed.
• The temporary drop in emotional availability — less time, less energy for the other — is described in the literature as an expected and generally reversible effect of this period, to be distinguished from a deeper difficulty in the relationship.

What studies on marital satisfaction after the birth of a child highlight is not the absence of fatigue — it is almost universal — but the way couples get through it. Explicitly naming this fatigue, rather than denying or minimizing it, is associated with a more stable maintenance of relationship quality. Conversely, silence about exhaustion, or the accumulation of unexpressed frustrations, tends to weaken communication over time. Maintaining short moments of closeness — even minimal ones in a period of intense fatigue — also plays a documented protective role, without this being enough on its own to guarantee the absence of tension. The emotional security that allows a couple to preserve these moments despite exhaustion is a point I develop in my book Comprendre son attachement.

This general phenomenon — how a couple regains a communication balance after the arrival of a child — is developed in more detail in our article on how a couple regains its closeness after the arrival of a child.

The vow renewal of May 2026

On 9 May 2026, a little over a year after the birth of their second son, Gaëlle Garcia Diaz and Daan De Pever renewed their wedding vows at the Domaine de Bronromme, in Desnié, in the municipality of Theux, in the Verviers region. The event was covered by several Belgian and French media outlets, including the local regional press, which independently confirmed the date and place of the ceremony. This vow renewal comes five years after their initial wedding of 8 May 2021.

Also read

• How a couple regains its closeness after the arrival of a child

Going further: My book Sauver son couple details how to get through a transition like the one experienced by Gaëlle Garcia Diaz and Daan De Pever — naming fatigue rather than keeping silent, preserving short moments of closeness — through a structured program inspired by the Gottman method and CBT. Read an excerpt

FAQ

Since when have Gaëlle Garcia Diaz and Daan De Pever been married?

Gaëlle Garcia Diaz and Daan De Pever were married on 8 May 2021. The couple then renewed their vows on 9 May 2026, at the Domaine de Bronromme, in Desnié (Theux), five years after their initial wedding.

How does the fatigue of having a young child affect communication in a couple?

Sleep deprivation and the redistribution of the parental load, particularly pronounced in the first months after a birth, reduce both partners' emotional availability and can make exchanges more tense. The couples who get through this period best are generally those who explicitly name their fatigue rather than keeping silent about it, and who maintain, even briefly, moments of closeness.

What signs distinguish passing parental fatigue from a deeper couple difficulty?

In general terms, passing parental fatigue comes with occasional irritability linked to lack of sleep, but the ability to talk about it openly and the desire to reconnect remain present. A deeper couple difficulty is rather distinguished by progressive disinvestment, the absence of dialogue about accumulated tensions, or prolonged avoidance of closeness, regardless of the fatigue of the moment. This distinction falls under a general assessment of how the couple functions and in no way prejudges the situation of any particular couple.