Hollyoaks star Jessica Fox reveals she’s pregnant with her first baby after two heartbreaking miscarriages
HOLLYOAKS actress Jessica Fox has revealed she’s expecting her first child after opening up about her heartbreaking baby loss.
The TV star – who is best known for playing Nancy Hayton in the Channel 4 soap – took to Instagram to reveal the happy news.
Posing alongside a series of baby scans, Jessica, 39, snuggled in tight to her husband Nicholas Willes, who she married in 2020.
The couple donned hats with the words ‘mum’ and ‘dad’ written on them as they cuddled up and smiled for the camera.
Jessica then penned a long caption, which she screenshotted and posted as a series of images, detailing her fertility journey.
“Nick and I have been on a rocky road to get to this point,” she penned. “Miscarriage is awful, there is no other word for it.
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“It robs you of the future you had planned, your faith in your body, it’s isolating, lonely, frightening and nobody seems to talk about it. It’s incredibly painful, it’s pass out in your bathroom painful.
“It takes away the joy and excitement when and if you choose (and are able) to get pregnant again. It’s replaced by anxiety, stress and more fear than I ever could have imaged.
“Nick and I lost two babies in 2021. Both losses were at the end of the first trimester and completely heartbreaking.
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“In a cruel twist of fate, when I got pregnant the second time, the character I play on Hollyoaks was pregnant too.
“On Twitter and Instagram I would see comments that I must be pregnant in real life. I looked pregnant almost straight away and I had started to put on weight.
“I started to show at work, I felt very smug that I’d have the most realistic baby bump ever. Maybe my actual baby could play my child on screen?
“The wardrobe department, who are the kindest people on earth, were the only ones who knew I was expecting.”
Jessica went on: “Then I lost the baby. On the Friday, I had a real bump, on the Monday I was putting on a fake one.
“It was every bit as horrific as it sounds. I tried to keep it a secret and get on with it. Sharing this on social media is not something I ever expected to do.”
Jessica went on to detail how she had to continue her character’s pregnancy storyline until the birth, where she was left “broken”.
“On my due date, at work, I was handed a beautiful tiny baby and I cried uncontrollably throughout the whole scene,” she added.
“The director, not knowing my situation must have thought I was fantastic – I was broken. My mental health was s**t.
“I’d given up sleep, I’d developed a fear of driving, intrusive thoughts and we think a form of OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder).
“A holiday, meditation, the NHS and most important time, things improved massively and I hope they burned that bloody bump.
“On holiday in Greece, I saw the most beautiful rainbow, I was pregnant by the time I got home.”
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Jessica concluded by saying she was getting help from the “miscarriage clinic” to ensure her third pregnancy continues safely.
“At 20 weeks, our baby is healthy and growing,” she finished the post. “Out of difficulties, grow miracles. Due spring 2023.”
Her friends and followers rushed to the comments section to congratulate her after the heartfelt post, calling her “amazing”.