Rebecca Adlington has spoken candidly about her heartbreak after losing her daughter to stillbirth earlier this year. The former Olympian admitted that she "couldn't help blame herself" in the weeks after losing her daughter Harper at 20 weeks in October last year. The 35-year-old opened up about the loss in an interview with The Sunday Times and explained it took her a long time to accept what had happened.
READ MORE: 'Shamed': Harsh questions single mum was asked during holiday "I couldn't help blaming myself. You analyse everything, but I'd done everything by the book – sleeping on my left side, not lying on my back, not eating this and that, no alcohol – and then this still happened," she told the publication. "It was very hard for me to accept.
I'm very logical so I wanted to find out why this had happened, but the post-mortem [in May] showed there was no reason; sometimes things just happen. I have to come to terms with that somehow and stop obsessing about it." For a daily dose of 9honey, subscribe to our newsletter here .
Adlington admitted she 'hated her body' and blamed herself for not being able to keep Harper alive. "It was only about four months ago I managed to pull myself out of the darkness a bit. I thought, 'Right, I have two kids I have to be around for as long as possible.
' But it's something that will always be here," she said. READ MORE: Reality star's emotional tribute to stillborn baby In October 2023 Adlington shared a post on Instagram and revealed that at her 20 week scan they discovered that there was no heartbeat. "I gave birth to our angel, Harper on Friday 7pm.
We held her, we had time with her. We will forever love and remember her always," she wrote. Adlington continued, "I don't have the strength or words right now and don't feel ready to share this news.
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'm due as I still look pregnant. I don't have the strength to tell this news individually.
" Adlington had announced they were pregnant during a family holiday to Disneyland Paris. "Our own bit of magic," she captioned the post of their family standing outside the Sleeping Beauty castle. In the snap the children, her husband and herself all placed a hand on her bump.
READ MORE: Why not hearing her daughter's name is unbearable for Emma Following Harper's death, Adlington and her husband Andy Parsons along with their son, three-year-old Albie and Summer, her nine-year-old daughter from a previous relationship, planted a cherry tree in her memory. Elsewhere in the interview the former Olympian said her children talk about their sister in a "not really sad, emotional way". Adlington and Parsons met on the dating app Bumble two years after she split from her ex-husband Harry Needs.
He moved from Liverpool to Manchester to live with her and they've created a wonderful life together. The Red Nose Grief and Loss Support Line is available 24/7 for anyone affected by the loss of a pregnancy, stillbirth or death of a baby or child on 1300 308 307. FOLLOW US ON WHATSAPP HERE : Stay across all the latest in celebrity, lifestyle and opinion via our WhatsApp channel.
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