‘Fighting for my life’: Reality star reveals raw truth about pregnancy

Former Love Island Australia contestant Phoebe Thompson has revealed she’s expecting her first child, opening up about prenatal depression and the pressure to “love” pregnancy.

Reality TV star Phoebe Thompson has broken her silence with a powerful message as she revealed she is pregnant and well into her third trimester.

After a noticeable absence from social media, the former Love Island contestant re-emerged with a heartfelt post and maternity shoot, sharing that her pregnancy journey has been far from smooth sailing.

“I was fighting for my life in the first trimester,” she wrote to Instagram, explaining her struggle with prenatal depression.

“A year ago I was manifesting my dream life … and God delivered. I was blessed with a healthy baby … but also a pregnancy that would test every part of me.”

Thompson said the experience has forced her to rethink her relationship with her body, shifting from one based on appearance and control to one of “surrender, respect and survival.”

She vowed not to “sugarcoat this experience.”

Former Love Island contestant Phoebe Thompson has detailed her struggles with pregnancy. Instagram

“Because for many women, pregnancy isn’t all glow and rainbows. It can feel like 10 months of Survivor: Vomiting, gagging, nutrient-depleted, mentally broken over the toilet bowl at 3am,” she wrote.

“The past few months have humbled me in ways I didn’t know possible. I’ve felt excited, scared, grateful, lost and helpless all at once. It wasn’t ‘morning sickness’ - it was all day and night.”

Thompson detailed the physical and emotional toll, from hormonal acne and rashes to extreme fatigue and “a wave of sadness” she now recognises as prenatal depression, something she said she hadn’t heard of before.

“I didn’t recognise myself,” she wrote.

“I thought I’d be one of those active, glowing, strong mamas-to-be. Instead, I was bedridden and broken.”

She also opened up about the shame and guilt she felt watching others romanticise pregnancy.

“Why couldn’t I embrace the miracle? I carried guilt for not loving pregnancy. I questioned my worth, my strength, my ability to be a mum.”

Phoebe Thompson says she found healing in other women’s honesty. Instagram

But through the pain came insight.

“Pregnancy, birth and motherhood is a spiritual initiation. It will crack you open. And no one will fully understand that transformation unless they’ve lived it.”

Thompson also acknowledged her privilege, being in her 30s in Australia, with access to care and a supportive partner and expressed empathy for women doing it on their own.

“It breaks my heart,” she said while also urging women to “choose your baby daddy wisely.”

While her post was raw and candid, Thompson said she found healing in other women’s honesty, and hopes her message will do the same.

“This post may sound heavy. But I’ve found healing in the voices of women who keep it real. So I made a vow to do the same. Because sometimes you just need to hear someone say, ‘You know what, this is actually f**cked.’”

“To the women navigating fertility struggles, loss, identity shifts, rage, guilt, confusion and postpartum fog this is for you,” she continued.

“We need to talk about this. Because when mothers are expected to carry it all in silence, we suffer.”

Now in her third trimester, Thompson says she is doing better, and has started easing back into exercise. But the mental adjustment to her changing body remains a challenge.

“Watching my body change, expand, not fitting any clothes, it’s been a mental trip on a bumpy road,” she admitted. Thompson has not revealed the identity of her partner, though she did announce their engagement in January.

Originally published as ‘Fighting for my life’: Reality star reveals raw truth about pregnancy