Strictly star opens up on horror haemorrhage and hospitalisation following birth of first child

STRICTLY's Gemma Atkinson has spoken out about the horror birth of her first child.

The 39-year-old suffered a haemorrhage after being rushed in for an emergency c-section with her daughter Mia.

Gemma says the experience made her fearful of her next birth after falling pregnant with Thiego.

She had the support of her Strictly Come Dancing fiance Gorka Márquez, who she met while competing on the show in 2017.

Despite Gemma's health struggle, the couple went on to have two children.

Explaining her birth story to fans on Instagram, Gemma said: "Mia was an emergency c-section.

"I then had a postpartum haemorrhage (PPH), both which scared me a lot.

"But the staff at Bolton Hospital worked wonders, so much so that they made me tell Gorks 'shall we try for another baby?'

"Thiego again was a c-section but no haemorrhage.

"I spent the next two weeks thinking about it happening, which I guess is expected, hence all my notes on feeds and meditation, but I was totally fine."

During that time it was reported that Gemma, 39, was effectively caring for Mia, four, and six-month-old Thiago on her own while Gorka worked as a Strictly professional dancer.

He’s been partnered on Strictly with Maisie Smith, Helen Skelton and, most recently, Nikita Kanda – they were the second couple to be eliminated in 2023. 

He’s recently started a new role as a judge on the Spanish version of Strictly, called Bailando Con Las Estrellas.

It means he’s away filming in Spain every weekend – cue rumours of a “rough patch” caused by time apart.

However, Gemma says it’s something they’ve both grown used to and – whisper it – there are aspects to being away from each other that she rather enjoys.

“If I’m with someone 24/7, I get really bored of them and they do my head in.

"Even looking at the back of their head can annoy me! I love my own space, and whenever he’s on Strictly, I see it as my time on my own with Mia and Thiago. Mia sleeps in my bed and it’s so nice.

“Some women message me and say: ‘How do you cope? He’s never there!’ I mean, come on. There are army wives who don’t see their partners for months, so a couple of weeks here and there is nothing.

"He flies out on the Friday and his flight home on Sunday lands at 10am. So, compared to Strictly, it’s actually very easy.

“And it’s bizarre how you can feel so connected, even though you’re physically apart. It’s six years now, but I still miss him when he’s away and we still have things to talk about when we’re together.”