Rebecca Adlington now devastating miscarriages, painful divorce ...

Olympian Rebecca Adlington has enjoyed enormous success in her chosen field - but in her private life, she's had to nurse plenty of heartache.

Mansfield-born Rebecca retired from professional swimming at the age of just 23 and nowadays focuses on punditry, where her love of the sport shines through during every appearance. Yesterday, those tuning into the Olympics were moved to see the 35-year-old shedding a tear in the BBC studio after Adam Peaty narrowly missed out on retaining his men's 100m breaststroke title, settling for joint silver instead.

Showing emotion, freestyle specialist Rebecca, who knows plenty about the ups and downs of life and sport, remarked: "You could see there he was genuinely happy with it, you could see they were happy tears. Unlike mine. I'm just like so emotional for him."

Here, the Mirror takes a look at Rebecca's life away from the pool, including her agonising baby loss ordeal, and the very modern way she met her now-husband...

Agonising divorce

In 2016, Rebecca announced that she and then-husband Harry Needs had called time on their marriage after previously admitting they'd had 'plenty of arguments' after becoming parents to daughter Summer, now nine.

The couple tied the knot in Venice back in August 2014, five years after first meeting as young professional swimmers. Their marriage only lasted a year and a half, and in a statement shared via her website, Rebecca confirmed the split had been 'amicable'. She stated: "It's after much thought and sadness that we confirm our separation. It is on amicable terms and we still remain close friends. We move forward with respect for one another and our focus and commitment is on parenting our gorgeous daughter Summer."

This announcement came after Rebecca spoke out candidly about the challenges of new motherhood, confessing: "Being a parent is bloody hard work and anyone who says it's easy is flat out lying. Harry and I have had plenty of arguments. We're knackered. A lot of mums have six or eight months off. I had two months and had to go back to work."

In 2020, Harry came out as bisexual and explained that he'd 'never had the time to explore his sexuality fully' before entering into marriage with Rebecca, resulting in him suffering from anxiety and depression. Speaking to GuysForYou, personal trainer Harry shared: "I didn't say a thing. For me personally, my journey with Rebecca was a destination to love. I think as an unconfident bisexual man it was extremely difficult back then to admit it even to myself, especially considering I had zero experience with the same sex. Once I knew I loved Rebecca, I was committed to that relationship and its journey for the rest of my life."

According to Harry, Rebecca was very supportive of him after he came out to her a year after their separation. He added: "I never felt I deceived her, because I loved her and like I already said, I never had the time to discover my full sexuality."

Finding love again through dating app

Rebecca found love again, with facilities manager Andy Parsons. The swimming pro admitted she'd been nervous to try out dating apps, but ended up connecting with her husband Andy after just two weeks of swiping on Bumble.

Opening up about their early courtship in a 2021 episode of Loose Women, Rebecca revealed: "I was like oh god I don't want to do online dating I was just terrified by all my friends' stories. And I just got to the point where I thought that's how you meet people nowadays, it's very rare that you just bump into somebody and meet them.

"So, I was like 'Oh I'll give it a try to see how it goes' and literally I was on the app two weeks, matched Andy my partner and just hit it off. I gave it another two weeks of chatting and then we met up and went out on a date and the rest is history and now we're sat here with a baby!"

After three years of dating, Rebecca and Andy said 'I do' at Cheshire's breathtaking Scarlet Hall manor house, shortly after welcoming son Albie, now three.

Devastating miscarriages

Rebecca has previously opened up about the toll her two harrowing miscarriages have had on her mental health. The Olympian suffered a miscarriage at 12 weeks in 2022, with her ordeal requiring emergency surgery and treatment for sepsis.

Revealing that she was 'slowly on the mend' in an Instagram post that praised medical staff who had cared for her, Rebecca told followers: "It's such a devastating time but important in times like these we remember we aren't alone and have so much support."

Tragically, in October 2023, the swimmer shared that she had lost her baby daughter Harper at 20 weeks pregnant, stating that she was 'truly heartbroken'. Taking to Instagram, in a post that thanked the 'incredible' staff at Manchester's Wythenshawe Hospital, grieving mum Rebecca wrote: "I don't really have the words right now but unfortunately we went for our 20-week scan this week and they found no heartbeat. I gave birth to our angel, Harper, on Friday at 7pm. We held her, and had time with her. We will forever love her and remember her always.

"I don't have the strength or words right now and don't feel ready to share this news. However, I can't pretend to be ok or fake a smile. I can't have people ask me how pregnancy is or when I am due as I still look pregnant. I don't have the strength to tell this news individually."

In an interview given to the Mirror in February 2024, Rebecca admitted that the end of 2023 had been 'tough', both 'physically and emotionally'. Offering insight into how her young family was coping, she said: "We'll never fully get over what happened, but Harper will always be part of our family. Even my two-year-old, Albie, tells people, 'My sisters are Harper and Summer'. Her ashes are now in the house. We talk about her, she'll always be part of our lives. I think you learn to find a way forward and to talk about her, without bursting into tears."

If you're struggling and need to talk, the Samaritans operate a free helpline open 24/7 on 116 123. Alternatively, you can email jo@samaritans.org or visit their site to find your local branch

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