Giuliana and Bill Rancic expecting

Los Angeles - Reality TV couple Giuliana and Bill Rancic have announced that they are expecting their first baby together.

"We are so thrilled that our prayers have been answered," Giuliana told E! News on Monday.

Bill, Giuliana's husband of five years, added to E!: "We are absolutely ecstatic to be sharing this with everyone who has been following our journey."

The couple's first child is due late in the US summer via a gestational surrogate - meaning that the child is biologically the Rancics.

Giuliana's struggles to conceive a child have been well documented in the couple's own E! reality series Giuliana & Bill, including failed IVF treatments and a miscarriage.

The couple's plans to start a family were put on hold in 2011 when Giuliana was diagnosed with breast cancer and opted to undergo a double mastectomy.

Giuliana works as a red carpet correspondent and TV host on the E! entertainment channel. Bill rose to fame as the first winner of the Donald Trump reality competition The Apprentice.