A child born as a result of a romantic liaison between parents not married to one another; an illegitimate child
Nobody ever came to see her, nobody spoke of her, nobody cared about her. Mr Brass had said once, that he believed she was a ‘love-child’ (which means anything but a child of love).
If journalists refer to someone as a love child, they mean that the person was born as a result of a love affair between two people who have never been married to each other. Eric has a secret love child. A child born of parents who are not married to each other. a child whose parents are not married - used especially in newspapers