Rebecca Adlington announces she is pregnant with her third child after opening up on devastating miscarriages as she says they are ‘cautiously overjoyed’

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Rebecca Adlington is expecting her third child, sharing the news after previously discussing her heartbreaking experiences with miscarriage.

The BBC sports presenter, age 36, announced the joyful news on Instagram Tuesday, saying she felt ‘cautiously overjoyed‘.

Olympic swimmer Rebecca shared a heartwarming black and white photo of her baby’s scan, calling it a ‘little miracle’.

She announced they were expecting a baby, sharing that the past nineteen months of trying had been challenging both emotionally and physically. She described the pregnancy as a welcome miracle.

We debated whether to share this, but we believe in being open and honest about what we’re going through. We also want to acknowledge the difficulties others face, both now and in the past.

We’re taking things one day at a time and are so thankful for the wonderful care we’re getting from the NHS Rainbow Team. They’re providing incredible support, and we really appreciate it.

We’re happy, but also mindful that many are still going through difficult times, and we’re sending them our support. We understand a lot of people are still hoping for good news like this.

She and her husband, Andy Parsons, already share a two-year-old son named Albie. She also has an eight-year-old daughter, Summer, from a previous relationship with Harry Needs.

Rebecca recently shared a painful experience: she felt intense self-disappointment and disliked her body after returning home from the hospital following her second miscarriage.

The television personality and her husband, Andy, opened up to This Morning hosts Emma Willis and Craig Coyle about their heartbreaking experience with two miscarriages, hoping to support others going through the same thing and increase awareness of the issue.

In 2022, Rebecca experienced a miscarriage at 12 weeks and was diagnosed with a molar pregnancy, which required immediate surgery.

A molar pregnancy happens when unusual tissue grows inside the uterus instead of a developing baby.

The next year, she received the devastating news of her second miscarriage during a 20-week scan. She then had to deliver the baby, and afterward, she found it incredibly difficult to look at her body, as it still appeared to be pregnant.

As a lifestyle expert, I often talk about the mind-body connection, and recently, I was deeply moved by Rebecca’s story on ITV. She so powerfully described feeling betrayed by her own body during a difficult time. She explained that what really hurt was that her body didn’t send her those crucial warning signals – that inner voice saying, ‘Something isn’t right, you need to seek help!’ It was a really raw and honest moment, and it highlighted how we often expect our bodies to protect us, and the frustration when they don’t.

I didn’t receive any information, and I wasn’t experiencing any symptoms. It was difficult to cope with, and even after, I still appeared to be pregnant.

It’s incredibly difficult to cope with the experience of giving birth and then learning your baby didn’t survive. On top of the grief, you’re left physically still appearing pregnant, and having to face that every time you look in the mirror is particularly painful.

It was an incredibly difficult time. I struggled with my body image and felt disconnected from my own body, despite it having given me two healthy children and allowed me to win four Olympic gold medals. I couldn’t grasp why it wasn’t working for me now.

‘And the second time as well. It’s hard the second time around.’ 

During the interview, Andy explained the partner’s viewpoint, stating that his primary role was to support Becky immediately after the incident occurred.

Now, all of our focus and support needs to be on Becky. This is about her body, her experience, and ultimately, her journey to cope with what happened.

I realized I needed to prioritize my well-being, so I sometimes took breaks, went to work, and acknowledged that I was having trouble dealing with things on my own. I was really struggling at the time.

We connected with Petals, a baby loss charity, and they were incredibly helpful in navigating our grief. We also benefited from couples counseling, which really made a difference.

‘One hour a week on focusing on talking about the loss of Harper, so that was key.

While the well-deserved attention is on the mother, it’s important to remember the fathers are also grieving the loss of their child and need support. Currently, that support isn’t sufficient.

Emma asked what the initial signs were that he knew he wasn’t coping. 

I began a new job shortly before our miscarriage, just two days before Becky was due to deliver Harper. I felt strongly that I needed to start and appear professional. I was competent in my new role, but I quickly became anxious about having to explain how I was doing, knowing I’d likely become overwhelmed with emotion.

On my first day, I only managed about five minutes before my boss sent me home. He was very understanding about it.

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2025-09-23 19:50