Bree
The former reality star has opened up about the tragedy that stole her first son’s life
Big Brother star’s heartbreaking tragedy
Former Big Brother housemate Bree AmerWilkes couldn’t believe it when she and her husband Evan fell pregnant with their first child in 2014.
But tragedy struck when she suffered a heartbreaking stillbirth just two weeks ahead of her due date – something she believes could have been prevented.
“Your world crumbles,” Bree, 35, explains. “It’s your worst nightmare. All your hopes and dreams you had for this little person come crashing down.”
At around 30 weeks Bree noticed her bump wasn’t growing any bigger. She alerted her doctor, who reassured her she was “a good size”.
“I was supposed to get a fundal measurement, but he didn’t do it. I asked him why and he said he’d measured me with his eyes and hands,” says Bree, who has also come face to face with thyroid cancer – in 2006 after a doctor noticed a lump on her neck when she was hosting Friday Night Live. She had two surgeries and radiotherapy.
A MOTHER’S INSTINCT
Still concerned about her son’s infrequent movements at 37 weeks, Bree went to see her doctor again. “I asked [him] if he could check his heartbeat – he said it was fine.”
But when she woke up the next morning she knew something was wrong and went straight to the hospital with her husband.
There, the midwife broke the news to the couple their baby, who they named Archie, no longer had a heartbeat.
“Your world stops turning,” says Bree, who then had to face the horror of delivering her baby knowing he was stillborn.
In time, the couple moved on and are now parents to healthy baby boy Hunter, nine months.
“At the time, you think you’re never going to laugh or smile again...,” says Bree. “But it gets easier once you get through the hurdles – you learn to live with it. I thought I was never going to be happy again – but I’m
happy now.”
‘Your hopes and dreams for this little person come crashing down’