Rebecca Adlington revealed she had couples therapy with her husband Andy Parsons to cope with the 'heartbreak' of her two miscarriages. 

The 35-year-old former Olympic swimmer lost a child at 12 weeks in August 2022.

A year later, she miscarried her daughter, Harper, at 20 weeks and had to undergo an induced labour and stillbirth.  

Rebecca said that couples counselling for several months helped her and Andy work through the 'dark cloud' of their grief after the 'incredibly devastating' time. 

The mother-of-two explained that she's had therapy before and was more open to the idea, while Andy 'wasn't sure' and didn't know what to expect.

He agreed to do it when he learned that they could have therapy sessions together.  

'Doing something together was really, really beneficial and vital for us. We did it for three or four months and it helped us get out from under that really dark cloud,' she told The Mirror.

'We both reacted and coped very differently so it helped us to understand what the other was going through.'

Rebecca said they have learned to accept the tragedy and she wants to encourage others to talk more openly about miscarriage, which she admitted is a 'hard' and 'uncomfortable' topic. 

'Of course, it’s incredibly devastating and heartbreaking, but I got to a point when I’d spoken about it so much. Now, I can talk about Harper without being in floods of tears,' said Rebecca, who is an ambassador for baby loss charity Petals.

The former sportswoman added that she's found a 'beautiful' way to honour Harper in her family, with her kids saying things like, 'My sister Harper.'   

She shares son Albie, three, with Andy as well as daughter Summer, eight, from her previous marriage to swimmer Harry Needs.

Rebecca said she went through a period of not going to the gym for two years because of the tragedies, but has now got back into a routine of doing Pilates and gym classes as well as weekly swims.

In September, the athlete shared some of the touching ways her family has paid tribute to Harper. 

'We've got a cherry blossom tree, we've got her little handprints on the wall in the living room with the family, Albie and Summer they always go "Harper's my sister,"' she said on Loose Women.

'Even on holiday last week there was a little chapel where we were in Greece and they lit a candle for Harper.

'She's part of our family, she will always be part of our family, and we're able to discuss her now in a way that we're not in floods of tears.'

Rebecca also revealed she didn't suffer any symptoms or notice any signs of her miscarriage until she was told in her 20-week scan.

She told the panellists: 'There were absolutely no symptoms I had no signs of it, we only found out by going to the 20-week scan.'

She then revealed that she received no explanation at all as to why she suffered a miscarriage.

She said: 'It was something that was totally unknown, we had all the post mortem, all the tests that I had done after.

'They still can't tell us why it happened.'

Andy and Rebecca tied the knot in August 2021 with a Cheshire ceremony, five months after welcoming their son Albie.

The pair met on dating app Bumble in 2018, with the swimmer gushing after their wedding: 'It worked out perfectly for us. We couldn't be happier.'

The couple started dating two years after she split from her ex-husband Harry, and she previously admitted she was nervous about finding love again.

They quickly fell in love and facilities manager Andy moved from Liverpool to live with Rebecca in Manchester in 2019.

If you have been affected by this story, you can seek advice at www.miscarriageassociation.org.uk or by calling 01924 200 799