Kelsey Parker shares emotional update after giving birth to newborn baby year after ‘devastating’ stillbirth

Warning: this article contains discussion of stillbirth and baby loss, which some may find distressing

Kelsey Parker has delivered a heartfelt family update more than a year after announcing the devastating stillbirth of her son, Pheonix Parker-Lindsay.

On Sunday (27 September), the 35-year-old creative announced she’d experienced some of the ‘most emotional’ weeks of her life after finally welcoming her daughter, River, with partner Will Lindsay.

The podcaster, who is the widow of the Wanted singer, Tom Parker, who died in 2022 after being diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, said that somehow, her heart felt ‘fuller and more fragile all at the same time’.

“Soaking up every second of this little bubble,” she wrote on Instagram, remarking on the ‘sleepless nights, the slow mornings, the cuddles, the tears’ she and her young family had been indulging in.

Parker, who shared daughter Aurelia and son Bodhi with the late musician, claimed the pair had quickly become the ‘most incredible’ older siblings.

“After everything we’ve been through, I don’t take a single moment for granted. Life can hold so much love and so much loss at the same time. And right now, I’m just letting myself feel it all.”

She added: “Our little River, you have brought so much hope with you.”

The heartfelt post was shared alongside a carousel of images from River’s early days. They featured her children holding her alongside Lindsay, a tree surgeon from Kent.

Fans and friends have come out in droves to congratulate the young family, with Louis Tomlinson’s sister Lottie writing: “Congratulations beautiful.”

“I think I speak for the entire internet when I say we couldn’t be happier for you,” said someone else.

Great British Bake Off star Candice Brown commented: “So so happy for you.”

“Your beautiful little family! After everything you’ve been through .. no one deserves this more love you so much,” gushed Gogglebox’s Lisa Baggs.

An update on River’s early life comes more than a year after Parker revealed the ‘earth-shattering news’ that her and Lindsay’s first child, Phoenix, had been stillborn.

"Phoenix Parker-Lindsay, you will forever be loved,” she shared alongside a poignant poem titled ‘Born Sleeping, Forever Loved’.

"The world grew quiet as you arrived, So loved, so longed for, yet not alive / Our precious boy, our angel light / Born with wings, took silent flight,” the poem read.

Speaking on Sky News’ UK Tonight with Sarah-Jane Mee earlier this year, the mother described how devastating it was to go into labour and give birth at 39 weeks, only to be taken onto a maternity ward with other new mothers and babies.

“I did not feel kindness and I think the people that had to look after me, their jaws were on the floor," she alleged

"They didn't know what to do, their hands were tied.

"I think for me, reliving it, I needed that time off. I actually took time off work, which is unheard of for me, because I needed time to process what I went through, and I wouldn't wish what I went through on anyone.

"It was absolutely horrendous, harrowing, awful."

After alleging that police treated her home as a ‘crime scene’ on Good Morning Britain, Parker received an apology from the Metropolitan Police.

“We understand this was a deeply traumatic experience for Kelsey and Will and our thoughts remain with them as they continue to grieve the loss of their son,” a spokesperson for the former said.

“We acknowledge that referring to the address as a crime scene was inappropriate, and that the family could and should have been treated in a more sensitive way.

“Learning has been implemented to prevent this happening again. A detective inspector has offered to meet with the family alongside a child bereavement nurse and arrangements are ongoing for this to take place.”

Parker was also allegedly told the paramedics who attended her house had never seen a stillborn baby before, as per The Standard.

“It’s taken me a year to actually process what happened to us. I’m just so upset and angry with how they treated me,” she said on Good Morning Britain.

“I just wanted love and kindness, and I don’t think that’s a lot to actually ask,” she added.

If you need support and advice following a pregnancy loss, you can contact the Tommy’s team at [email protected]. You can also call them for free on 0800 014 7800, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.