‘I'M TERRIFIED of getting pregnant again'

Greg James’ wife Bella Mackie opens up about her miscarriage and the toll it took on her mental health…

- HAYLEY MINN

Greg James has been brightening up our days and keeping his listeners smiling on BBC Radio 1’s Breakfast Show throughout lockdown. But, behind closed doors, he and his wife Bella Mackie have been dealing with fertility struggles.

Writer Bella, 36 – who married the presenter in 2018 – has opened up on a tragic miscarriage she suffered. And, as someone who has suffered from anxiety and OCD since her 20s, she confessed it really took a toll on her mental health.

As a result, Bella now feels ‘terrified’ to become pregnant again, and is worried about risking her mental well-being.

In a personal essay for The Times, Bella wrote, ‘It was a surprise and only lasted for about three weeks; it could barely be called a miscarriage. But, even in that brief window, my mental health plummeted dramatically.’

After that traumatic experience, Bella isn’t sure if she ever wants children now, as throughout her three-week pregnancy, she says she was having ‘constant intrusive thoughts’ and her OCD ‘roared back’ to the point that she couldn’t stop crying.