'Our little bambino': Zachary Levi, girlfriend Maggie Keating announce first pregnancy, actor shares heartfelt note on Instagram

Actor Zachary Levi, best known for his role in 'Shazam!' and his girlfriend Maggie Keating, are expecting their first child together.

The 44-year-old actor took to his Instagram account on Friday to share the news with an emotional post that included an ultrasound photo and a picture of Keating hugging him during a beach outing.

Calling it a lifelong dream, Levi in his post wrote, "I've wanted to be a dad since I was literally a kid. I've always felt that call on my life. This desire in my heart. A strange feeling of incompleteness by not having that level of love and responsibility in my journey. That the best years of my life would be on the other side of finally being a father. But deep down I knew that there were things in my life that needed to shift before I was ready for the blessing of something so special and the responsibilities that come with it."


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Levi also shared that he began focusing on personal growth last year to prepare himself for parenthood.

"So last November I started to make some shifts in my life. Shifts that ultimately came down to loving and valuing myself more. Prioritizing my own health physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. And lo and behold, immediately things started to manifest for the better," he shared.

Describing Keating as a "wonderful woman", Levi added, "And very quickly God brought a brilliant, honest, grounded, and deep love into my life thru the angelic form of @maggiekeating. A wonderful woman on the same journey of self discovery and love, ready to step into a new and amazing chapter of life with me. So, we did. "

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"We can't wait for y'all to meet our little bambino. We're waiting until the birth to know the sex, but I'll be stoked out of my mind either way. Always accepting potential baby names. Keep 'em original, but not TOO original. We don't need them being bullied more than their theater-nerd father," he added.

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A post shared by Zachary Levi (@zacharylevi)

The announcement comes amid controversy surrounding Levi. According to People, his former Broadway costar Laura Benanti recently criticized him for comments made about Gavin Creel's death, suggesting he used the tragedy to promote his personal beliefs. Levi has not publicly responded to these claims.