I'm a Celebrity's Rebecca Adlington shares 'guilt' over losing baby daughter

Former I'm A Celebrity star Rebecca Adlington has bravely spoken about the heartbreak of losing her baby girl.

The Olympic swimmer has endured two miscarriages - she discovered her first during a routine 12-week scan in 2022, and then in 2023, she was five months pregnant when a scan revealed there was no heartbeat. She gave birth to her daughter, whom she named Harper, two days later, reports the Express.

Speaking onBBC Breakfast on Tuesday (September 16), Rebecca confessed it "eats away at you".

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When asked about giving birth to Harper, she said, "Normally, you go through the birth and you get this wonderful, incredible child. So to not have that and to be giving birth to your baby and you're not going to see them open their eyes, you're not going to hear them cry, you're not going to do these things, it's really hard."

The star, who married Andy Parsons in 2021, praised the hospital staff as "fantastic."

"They explained what she was going to look like, because their colouring is a little bit different, and what to expect," she said.

"They really do prepare you, and that does put your mind at ease. They put a little hat on her, gave her a little blanket, and then came through.

"And then I did want to see her. My gut told me in that moment, I was like, 'I absolutely do want to see her'. And it's, honestly, I say all the time now, I'm like, I'm so glad I did. I'm really, really glad I did. Just to be able to actually see how she was developed and see her little nose and her little hands.

"And even though it was really difficult, I think I would have regretted that decision if I hadn't seen her."

The 36-year-old star, who previously welcomed a daughter in 2015 and a son in 2021, admitted that after two healthy pregnancies and natural births, she "didn't even consider the kind of danger aspect, or that it wasn't going to go as planned".

"It does change you," she confessed. "It definitely eats away at you. It's definitely hard to process. You feel guilt that something... Is it something I did? You ask all these questions of yourself.

"That trauma, it just lives with you and it eats away at you and it's something that doesn't get easier with time if you just bottle it up and don't talk about it."

Rebecca, who was an I'm A Celebrity camper in 2013, also opened up about how the pregnancy and baby loss charity Petals "became our absolute lifeline" after the loss.

BBC Breakfast is broadcast on BBC One from 6am.