Rebecca Adlington shared that her grandmother passed away on the same day she and her husband, Andy Parsons, welcomed their daughter – a ‘rainbow baby’ born after a period of loss.
The 37-year-old former Olympic swimmer announced on Sunday the birth of her third child, Thea Joy. This news comes after she experienced the pain of two miscarriages over the past three years.
Rebecca Adlington, 37, is already a mom to two children: her two-year-old son, Albie, and her eight-year-old daughter, Summer, from a previous relationship with Harry Needs.
The actress revealed she was in the hospital for three days after giving birth to her daughter, and described the entire experience – from getting pregnant to welcoming her baby – as a very emotional and unpredictable ride.
It’s been an incredible journey, a real emotional rollercoaster. After three years of trying, including two heartbreaking miscarriages, we finally welcomed our precious ‘rainbow baby’ after 39 weeks of pregnancy. The birth was quite an ordeal, requiring 87 hours in the hospital, but it was all worth it.
Our daughter, Thea Joy Parsons, was born on February 28th, the same day my grandmother, Joyce, passed away. It felt like a beautiful full-circle moment. We named her Joy in honor of my nana, and we already know she’ll bring our family a lot of happiness.
We’re overjoyed to have her home safe and well. We know many of you are still hoping for good news, and we’re sending you all our love and support during this difficult time.
Rebecca announced on Instagram Sunday that she and Parsons have welcomed their daughter, Thea Joy, sharing with fans that their family is now complete.
Rebecca Adlington shared the first photo of her baby daughter, peacefully sleeping in her hospital crib. The family made heart shapes with their hands around the little one.
Friends and fans quickly sent their congratulations. Olympian Greg Rutherford wrote ‘Massive congratulations!’ and Kelsey Parker, the widow of Tom Parker, called the news ‘So special,’ also offering her congratulations.
Olympian Jazz Carlin also shared her congratulations, saying, ‘Fantastic news! I hope everyone is doing well and sending lots of love.’
Meanwhile fans said: ‘Congratulations, she is beautiful.’
‘Beautiful name for an absolute beauty congrats to you all.’
‘Aww congratulations to you all.’
‘Aw congratulations baby girl will be so loved by you all.’
‘So pleased for all of you xx.’
Rebecca recently shared a painful experience: after her second miscarriage, she felt intense self-hatred and struggled with her body image upon returning home from the hospital.
TV personality and her husband, Andy, opened up to This Morning’s Emma Willis and Craig Doyle about experiencing two heartbreaking miscarriages, hoping to support others going through the same thing and raise awareness about pregnancy loss.
In 2022, Rebecca experienced a miscarriage at 12 weeks and was diagnosed with a molar pregnancy, which required emergency surgery.
A molar pregnancy happens when unusual tissue develops in the uterus instead of a normal baby.
The next year brought another heartbreaking loss – a miscarriage discovered during her 20-week scan. She then had to deliver her baby, a daughter they named Harper. She shared that it was very difficult afterward, as her body still appeared pregnant, which was emotionally challenging.
Rebecca shared her painful experience on ITV, explaining she felt furious with her body for not alerting her that something was wrong. She wished her body had given her a warning sign, prompting her to seek help.
It gave me no information, and I didn’t experience any symptoms. It was very difficult emotionally, and even afterward, I still appeared to be pregnant.
It’s incredibly difficult to cope with the experience of giving birth to a baby who doesn’t survive, and then returning home to face the physical reality of still appearing pregnant.
It was a really difficult time. I struggled with my body image and felt disconnected from my own body, even after it had given me two healthy children and helped me win four Olympic gold medals. I couldn’t figure out why I felt like it had failed me now.
‘And the second time as well. It’s hard the second time around.’
During an appearance on This Morning, Andy explained his role as the partner, saying he immediately stepped up to support Becky when the situation arose.
Now, all attention and support are focused on Becky, as this experience directly affects her body, her emotional pain, and her personal journey to cope with what happened.
I realized I needed to prioritize my well-being. There were times I had to distance myself, go to work, and acknowledge that I was overwhelmed and couldn’t deal with things on my own.
We connected with Petals, a baby loss charity, and they were incredibly helpful in navigating our grief. We also benefited from couples counseling, which provided much-needed support.
‘One hour a week on focusing on talking about the loss of Harper, so that was key.
It’s understandable that the focus is on the woman in this difficult time, but the men involved are also grieving the loss of a child and deserve support too. Their needs shouldn’t be overlooked.
If you need support, you can reach out to the Miscarriage Association at miscarriageassociation.org.uk or Sands at sands.org.uk.
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2026-03-04 19:10