Rebecca Adlington 'hated her body' after the tragic stillbirth of her daughter | Celebrity News | Showbiz & TV

Olympic gold medallist Rebecca Adlington has spoken about the deep grief she felt after the stillbirth of her daughter. The 35-year-old swimmer revealed that she “hated [her] body” and couldn’t stop blaming herself after losing her third child, Harper, at just 20 weeks old in October last year.

The heartache began during a routine scan at 20 weeks, when Rebecca was faced with the devastating news that her baby had died and labor was induced.

In a candid interview with the Sunday Times, she expressed her torment: “I couldn't help but blame myself. You analyse everything, but I did everything exactly as prescribed – sleeping on my left side, not lying on my back, not eating this and that, not drinking alcohol – and then this happened anyway.”

Rebecca struggled to come to terms with the tragedy, looking for logical answers but finding none. She said: “It was very hard for me to accept it. I am very logical so I wanted to find out why it had happened, but the autopsy [in May] showed that there was no reason; sometimes things just happen. I have to deal with it somehow and stop obsessing over it.”

In memory of Harper, Rebecca, her husband Andy Parsons, their three-year-old son Albie and their nine-year-old daughter Summer from a previous relationship planted a cherry tree. They also cherish Harper's handprint, which they have framed and hanging on their wall.

Rebecca Adlington, who suffered a 12-week miscarriage in 2022 and was subsequently hospitalized with sepsis, has spoken about her struggle. “Afterward, I hated my body for not being able to keep Harper alive,” she confessed, reports the Mirror.

“I felt like it had let me down and that I hadn't taken care of myself: I wasn't exercising and I had a bad diet.”

“It wasn't until about four months ago that I managed to pull myself out of the darkness a little bit. I thought, 'Well, I have two kids that I need to be there for as long as possible.' But that's something that will always be there.”

Rebecca found love again with her husband Andy through the dating app Bumble two years after splitting from her ex-husband Harry Needs. Andy, a facility manager, moved from Liverpool to Manchester to live with Rebecca.

The former Olympic athlete returned to our TV screens this summer as the BBC's commentator for the swimming events at the Paris Olympics, but after her remarkable victories at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, she faced a lot of hostility for her performance.

She said of this time in her life: “I thought to myself, 'Guys, I don't want to be a model.' Nobody said I had to be pretty to be able to swim, the two things just don't go together. I don't have to be skinny. I have to be strong. I have to be powerful. I have to move my body through the water as efficiently as possible. It's not about who looks good in a bikini.”