Coronation Street star Simon Gregson has revealed he and his wife, Emma Gleave, have suffered 11 miscarriages, including a heartbreaking loss at 21 weeks and four days into the pregnancy.
Simon, who plays Steve McDonald in the soap, is currently at the centre of a storyline where Steve’s wife, Michelle Connor, suffers a late miscarriage at 23 weeks pregnant.
Fans are aware that Simon’s co-star Kym Marsh, who plays Michelle, tragically lost her little boy, Archie, when he was born prematurely at 22 weeks in 2009.
But Simon’s heartbreak hasn’t been made public until now when he took to Twitter to respond to a nasty comment that had been made.
“To the £&)(; who tweeted my wife,” he wrote. “We’ve lost 11 baby’s 1st being 21 weeks 4 days. Maybe think or do your research before tweeting someone.”
Well said, Simon.
Simon and Emma, who married in 2010, are happily parents to three boys: Alfie, nine, Harry, seven, and one-year-old Teddy.
Kym Marsh has previously spoken out about her loss and admitted she “thought long and hard” before agreeing to the traumatic storyline.
Speaking in her OK! column this week, Kym explained that she and Simon sat down and watched the episode before it went on air.
“Acting the scenes and watching it on telly are quite different,” she revealed. “It’s like trauma times two – so work thought it was important for me to watch it ahead of it being aired. They’ve really taken care of me.
“Watching it back reinforced why I agreed to do the storyline in the first place – to help other people who’ve gone through something similar.
“I think we’ve done it justice and I can be proud of it. Yes, I’ve been to some dark places and I’ve had to revisit the emotions I felt when I lost Archie, but hopefully some people will gain from it.”
She also added: “I’ve had a lot of lovely messages already both from charities, including Tommy’s, that raise awareness of stillbirth, and from other ‘angel mummies’, as we call ourselves, who have been through a similar traumatic experience.”
We think both Kym and Simon have done a great job of portraying the difficult subject matter, but things are set to get worse before they get better for the devastated couple.
Read more: Guilty Steve confesses
And with Leanne’s baby secret still bubbling under the surface, it’s only a matter of time before there’s even more heartbreak ahead for the McDonalds.