Cara: “I’m so anxious about having my baby on my own”
With fears of giving birth alone, Cara de la Hoyde admits on Instagram that she feels robbed of enjoying her second pregnancy amid the pandemic
When Closer spoke to Cara de la Hoyde during her first pregnancy in 2017, she revealed that impending motherhood with son Freddie had helped ease her depression and anxiety.
After being on antidepressants since her teenage years to help her cope with the condition, she came off medication, saying, “I haven’t had any breakdowns and, for the first time in ages, I’m much more positive. Having a baby feels like the missing part of the puzzle.”
Since then, Cara, 30 – who shares Freddie, two, with husband Nathan Massey, 27 – has kept her mental health on an even keel and, in March, she announced she was expecting again, saying she felt “so lucky and happy” that it had been smooth sailing, like her first.
UNCERTAIN FUTURE
But just two weeks later, the government began the nationwide COVID-19 lockdown – and in a series of candid Instagram posts, the former Love Island star has revealed the uncertain future ahead has sent her spiralling “into a hole” and back on to antidepressants.
Now 24 weeks into her second pregnancy, she made the confession to her 1.1m fans, saying, “This pregnancy has been so different – so many emotions and things that none of us could have ever expected. [That’s why]
I’ve taken the decision to also start taking my antidepressants again. Coming off was a big deal for me after 12 years, but sometimes you need to swallow your pride and do what’s best for you and your family.
“I’m excited to see our baby, but also very anxious about going to the hospital on my own, which is obviously a possibility now for the birth depending how long this [social distancing] continues.”
Realising her mood had been dropping since lockdown, Cara candidly revealed online that she’d contacted her GP for an appointment via video link. Her doctor prescribed her safe antidepressants to take while pregnant.
But even trips to the supermarket – once a normal, everyday task – now cause her anxiety, as the NHS places pregnant women in the “vulnerable” category for coronavirus. Paying bills is also a worry, as is the possibility of going through childbirth alone.
In another post, she admitted, “I still keep forgetting that we’ve got another one on the way. To be honest with you all, I’m really not enjoying this pregnancy... I feel robbed of being able to enjoy this amazing time with my family and friends.”
The couple – who won Love Island together in 2016 and married in an intimate ceremony in Canterbury last year – had planned a lavish baby gender reveal party, as they both hope for a girl, with Nathan excitedly saying, “We’re not going to say how we’re doing it, but it’s going to be mind-blowing. We want to find out the sex, as you can paint their room and buy clothes.”
UPSETTING
Instead, Cara attended her 20-week scan alone, although understands why hospitals aren’t allowing fathers to be present at the moment. Replying to a fan comment hours after her scan, she wrote, “I know it’s upsetting, but it made sense. I had two ladies spread out in the waiting area with me. It makes it less crowded with no one waiting around.”
Cara and Nathan, who are isolating together at their home in Kent, suffered a blip in their relationship in 2017 after a series of explosive rows caused them to split. But shortly after, they discovered Cara was pregnant with Freddie. When he was born, they decided to give their romance another go, with Cara saying, “We are made for each other. The split was the best thing for us at the time. It made us stronger.”
But she has admitted that isolating together and working on a new travel vlog project – combined with feelings of exhaustion due to the lack of routine – hasn’t been easy for their year-long marriage. Accompanying a picture of them together, she wrote in one post, “Isolation is the biggest test we’ve had. I’m not ashamed to admit we’ve argued like cat and dog... But we can do this. Roll on the days when Nathan can sod off to golf all day with the boys – I never thought I’d say that!”