Rebecca Adlington 'hated her body' and 'blamed herself' after tragic stillborn of daughter

Olympic champion Rebecca Adlington has opened up about the profound grief she experienced after the stillbirth of her daughter. The 35 year old swimming star revealed that she "hated [her] body" and couldn't stop blaming herself following the loss of her third child, Harper, at just 20 weeks in October last year.

The heartache unfolded during a routine 20-week scan when Rebecca was confronted with the devastating news that her baby had passed away, leading to an induced labour.

In a candid interview with the Sunday Times, she expressed her torment: "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."

Rebecca struggled to come to terms with the tragedy, seeking answers in logic but finding none. She shared: "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."

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

Rebecca Adlington, who suffered a miscarriage at 12 weeks in 2022 and was subsequently hospitalised with sepsis, has spoken out about her struggle. "Afterwards I hated my body because it couldn't keep Harper alive," she confessed, reports the Mirror.

"I felt it had let me down and I didn't look after myself: I wasn't exercising and eating badly."

"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."

Rebecca found love again with her husband Andy on dating app Bumble, two years after parting ways with her ex-husband Harry Needs. Andy, a facilities manager, relocated from Liverpool to Manchester to live with Rebecca.

The former Olympic athlete made a return to our TV screens this summer as a BBC commentator for the swimming events at the Paris Olympics. However, following her remarkable victories at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, she faced cruel trolling over her appearance.

Addressing this period in her life, she said: "I was like: 'Guys, I'm not trying to be a model.' Nobody said I need to be pretty to swim, the two just don't combine. I don't need to be stick thin. I need to be strong. I need to be powerful. I need to get my body through the water in the most efficient sense. It's not to do with who looks good in a bikini."