Amanda Holden has paid tribute to her stillborn son Theo on what would have been his 11th birthday.
Posting on her Instagram page on Tuesday morning, Amanda wrote that she was “still grateful” for the experience of having carried Theo.
Alongside a photo of a pair of newborn footprints, the Britain’s Got Talent judge wrote: “You would have been 11 today. I’m still grateful you chose us for your journey.”
Amanda was seven months pregnant in 2011 when she had a scan which revealed that Theo’s heart had stopped. She then underwent a caesarean procedure at West Middlesex University Hospital.
In the years since, Amanda has spoken candidly about the issues of stillbirth and pregnancy loss.
She also set up the fund Theo’s Hope in 2018, which aimed to provide bereavement counsellors in maternity units around the UK.
Amanda said during an interview in 2018: “Theo is always [with me]. I dream about him and sometimes I speak to him. Lots of moments, symbols, make me think of Theo and connect me to him. But I don’t speak about them because I don’t want the magic to go.”
She added: “I feel honoured to be the person that carried him that far on his journey. I think perhaps he chose me because I was strong enough to handle it. He just didn’t need to continue his journey here.
“I think about him every day.”
Amanda has two daughters, 16-year-old Hollie and 10-year-old Lexi, who she shares with her husband of 13 years, record producer Chris Hughes.
Help and support:
- Sands works to support anyone affected by the death of a baby.
- Tommy’s fund research into miscarriage, stillbirth and premature birth, and provide pregnancy health information to parents.
- Saying Goodbye offers support for anyone who has suffered the loss of a baby during pregnancy, at birth or in infancy.