Rebecca Adlington disclosed her daughter’s stillbirth at 20 weeks on Friday in a heartbreaking social media post.
The Olympic swimmer and I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! star, 34, revealed she was expecting her second child with husband Andrew Parsons.
Tragically, Rebecca announced their daughter didn’t have a heartbeat during a 20-week ultrasound on Sunday.
She wrote on Instagram: ‘I don’t really have the words for right now but unfortunately, we went for our 20-week scan this week and they discovered no heartbeat.
‘I gave birth to our angel, Harper, on Friday at 7pm. We held her and had time with her. We will forever love and always remember her.’
She continued: ‘We can’t thank the staff at Wythenshawe enough. (213 Rachel, Emma and Keeley, your kindness and care throughout was simply incredible.
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‘And Andy, your selfless support, love and help is truly amazing. I couldn’t of survived without you. I don’t have the strength or words right now and don’t feel ready to share this news.’
Rebecca went on: ‘However, I can’t pretend to be ok or fake a smile. I can’t have people ask me how pregnancy is or when I am due as I still look pregnant. I don’t have the strength to tell this news individually. We are so truly heartbroken. Our beautiful girl. Rest in peace.’
Rebecca and Andrew already have a two-year-old boy named Albie, and she has an eight-year-old daughter named Summer with her ex-husband Harry Needs.
In 2016, the adoring mother divorced Harry after 18 months of marriage.
Rebecca and Andy married on August 28, 2021, five months after their baby was born, at the gorgeous Scarlet Hall mansion.
The newlyweds shared their big day with Hello! magazine and speaking about their wedding day, retired swimmer Rebecca said: ‘The sun shone, the people we love were there and it was just the best day.’
More recently, the athlete experienced a miscarriage last year.
Rebecca needed emergency surgery and was being treated for sepsis, a kidney infection, and fever at the time.
She previously stated that she was concerned that her continuous battle with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) may interfere with her ability to conceive.
‘It’s not easy to get pregnant,’ Rebecca continued. ‘I just don’t want to put loads of pressure on it or have any expectations.
‘Especially when people start asking every single month, “Are you pregnant?” I don’t want to deal with that while working full-time and having two kids.’
Pregnancy loss support
If you’ve been affected by this story, help can be found at http://www.miscarriageassociation.org.uk or http://www.tommys.org
