Kelsey Parker, who lost her husband Tom Parker to brain cancer in 2022, is expecting a rainbow baby with her partner Will Lindsay. She says she is excited about the future and refuses to let grief stop her from living.
A new chapter of hope
Speaking from a holiday villa in Spain, Kelsey beams: "We've been excited since the day we found out I was pregnant again. I just don't let myself go to that dark place of, what if? It's not me."
The podcaster and performing arts school owner has two children, Aurelia, seven, and Bodhi, five, with Tom. In late 2024, she went public with her new partner, tree surgeon Will Lindsay. The couple were overjoyed to discover they were expecting last January, but in June they revealed their baby, a son named Phoenix, had been born sleeping.
Resilience and strength
Despite the heartache, Kelsey shows remarkable resilience. "We never know what's going to happen in life, do we? So there's no point being anxious. We can't control what happens," she says. "Six years ago, I thought I would still be with Tom, we'd have our kids, we might be planning more kids. But that's just not where my life went."
Her children have been through a lot, but they are "the most resilient children you've ever met," she says. They are excited about having a new sibling and ask more questions this time. "Obviously, we'd lived this experience with Phoenix, and Aurelia does ask me things like, 'Could this happen again?' But what can you say? Because I haven't got the answer for that, have I?"
Healing and support
Kelsey has been open about her traumatic experience with Phoenix, including a fast natural labour at home where paramedics took her baby after only nine minutes. She was then placed in a hospital maternity ward surrounded by newborns. "It took me a long time to be able to talk about what happened with Phoenix, because it was so raw," she says. "I definitely had PTSD, from how I was treated."
The outpouring of love since has been a huge comfort. "The support has been unreal," she says. "I'm so happy that I've shared my story now. It felt like a whole year of me bottling it all up and that's not good."
Looking forward
In June, Kelsey and Will marked the first anniversary of losing Phoenix, which coincided with Father's Day. "It was a really hard day. I was very numb," she recalls. But Will is her "rock," and she adores how he never baulks at conversations about Tom. "My two absolutely adore Will. He's lost his dad and has a stepdad, so he truly relates to the situation," she explains.
Kelsey is focused on staying fit and healthy for the baby. "I'm going to be in a total baby bubble soon. I might even take some time off," she says. She is also backing a campaign with asmodee and Welcome Break to host Memory Making Break Points at motorway services, where families can play travel games together. "After everything we've been through, just seeing my kids glued to a screen doesn't benefit me. I want to spend quality time with them," she says.
