Kelsey Parker has revealed she kept her latest pregnancy a secret for as long as possible because she feared that negativity and bad energy contributed to the stillbirth of her son Phoenix in June 2025. The actress, author and mother of two says she couldn't bear the thought of anyone saying anything bad this time around.
Parker, whose husband Tom Parker of The Wanted died in 2022, says she also didn't want anyone tracking how far along she was or anticipating her due date. She and her partner Will largely kept the news to themselves, and she only told her children Aurelia, 7, and Bodhi, 5, when she was well over 20 weeks pregnant.
In a first-person account, Parker recalls the trauma of Phoenix's birth at 39 weeks. She had planned a homebirth, but when labour started, things moved so quickly that the midwife couldn't get there in time and was on FaceTime when Phoenix was born stillborn within minutes.
Police and hospital treatment
Parker describes the aftermath as 'absolutely horrendous', saying paramedics phoned the police and she was taken to hospital and put on the maternity ward with a police officer stationed at her door. She was not allowed to see her baby, and Will never got to hold him.
Despite her recording Phoenix's birth, she says no one watched the video until 1am, even though she begged police and hospital staff to do so. The head midwife eventually watched it and confirmed he died of natural causes, but Parker says she was still questioned.
When they were finally allowed to see Phoenix, he didn't look like the same baby that was born peacefully, and the consultant said they could hold him through a mattress. They still had a police escort.
Pregnancy with River
Parker says the period after losing Phoenix was isolating, and it took a year to get her head around what had happened. She desperately wanted to be pregnant again and got a positive test in December, six months after losing Phoenix.
She planned to give birth in a hospital she'd never been to, 20 minutes' drive away, but went into labour quickly again and a homebirth was the only option. River came into the world within minutes at 1:21am, with Aurelia and Bodhi sleeping through the whole thing.
River, Will and Parker were taken to the hospital where they'd seen Phoenix for the last time. Parker says being back under such different circumstances helped lift the trauma, and they got out as soon as they could so the children could meet their little sister when they got back from school.
Grief and comfort
Parker says she believes River is a gift from Tom, and that knowing Phoenix is being looked after by Tom gives Will a bit of peace too. She says she sees Tom and Phoenix every day in the signs they send her, and they share a memorial bench now, which she takes comfort in.
She says she never thought her life would turn out like this, but despite everything, she will always look for the positive – because that is what brought her River.
