Made in Chelsea's Ollie Locke took to Instagram yesterday to reveal the heartbreaking news that his surrogate had miscarried at six weeks. Earlier this year, in November, the 34-year-old reality TV star had announced he and his husband Gareth were expecting their first child together after undergoing a second round of IVF treatment.
Speaking to his 482k followers on 28 December, Ollie said: "This is the last thing I want to be writing, but this is sadly a part of our journey."
"In early November our life changed in the most extraordinary and wonderful way, those two perfect lines shone through a pregnancy test telling us we were pregnant and Gareth, myself, our surrogate and our families were all ecstatic. After a difficult year, a little bean growing inside the best person you could ever imagine was the most wonderful early Christmas present we could ever have imagined."
The 34-year-old continued: "Through the course of nature, at 6 weeks and 2 days it stopped growing and had gone. This is not going to be the end of the road, in fact we have some wonderful plans and we continue to move forward towards the remarkable gift of fatherhood. All of your support has been amazing and I have read every DM you have sent and thank you for being so kind to Gareth, myself and our heavenly surrogate!"
In the comments section, fans and celebrity friends alike shared kind words of support for the couple. "Lots of love" wrote The Only Way Is Essex star Lydia Bright, with someone else commenting: "Exactly what happened to me last Monday. Lost our little bean in the 6th week. I'm feeling with you and am so sorry for your loss."
As for what the couple's next step would be, Ollie told fans this wasn't the end of their journey, adding: "With the greatest sadness, we will always continue to look towards a silver lining, which is the shining beacon of a community that we have found who are all going through the same journey as us, trying to have the family they so wish and deserve. Your support has been remarkable!"
The loss comes just months after their first IVF attempt in July was sadly unsuccessful. Speaking to HELLO! the reality TV star admitted they had "very high expectations" about the process, but had come to terms with the IVF's failure.
Our thoughts are with Ollie and his family at this emotional time.
If you're looking for support or more information about premature births, stillbirths or miscarriage, Tommy's have a free helpline 0800 0147 800 (open 9-5, Monday to Friday). There's also a Facebook group.
Jade Biggs (she/her) is Cosmopolitan UK's Features Writer, covering everything from breaking news and latest royal gossip, to the health and fitness trends taking over your TikTok feed. She also works on first-person features and investigative long-reads, taking a deep-dive into mental health, celebrity culture and women's rights. Jade has been a journalist and content writer for ten years, and has interviewed leading researchers and doctors, high-profile influencers and fitness experts. She is a cat mum to four fur babies and is obsessed with Drag Race, bottomless brunches and wearing clothes only suitable for Bratz dolls. Follow her on Instagram or Twitter.
