Kelsey Parker is reflecting on the loss of her son Phoenix — and the controversial but not uncommon way she was treated by police — one year after he was stillborn during a home delivery.
“The year has been a massive, massive struggle to come to terms with everything that happened to us,” Parker, 35, shared during the Monday, June 22, episode of British morning show This Morning.
Kelsey — who was married to The Wanted’s Tom Parker, and welcomed two children with him, prior to his death in 2022 — recalled that the birth of her and partner Will Lindsay’s first baby, her third, “was all so quick” and began with a “natural labor at home.”
“My mum, my auntie and my partner Will were there, my children were there. And I ended up having Phoenix at home,” Kelsey explained. “He was actually a planned home birth, but obviously not how it went.”
The motivational speaker said that her midwife couldn’t get to her and when she ultimately gave birth to Phoenix in June 2025, “You could quite clearly see that Phoenix was no longer with us.”
Because of the pregnancy loss, Kelsey had to call emergency services in the U.K. and that’s when she said things became “just horrendous.”
“[It was] really, really horrendous how I was treated, how Will was treated and how the whole family was treated was absolutely shocking,” she claimed. “It’s taken me a year to actually come out and speak about it.”
Kelsey revealed, “The paramedics arrived and they took Phoenix from me, so I only ever got to hold Phoenix for nine minutes.”
She remembered that the paramedics called the police and then Phoenix was taken away in an ambulance, while Kelsey was rushed off to the maternity ward despite her pleas to see her baby again.
“I actually pleaded with [the paramedics], I said, ‘Please, one, can I be with my son, but two, please don’t put me on the maternity ward where people are giving birth to babies that I am going to hear crying,'” Kelsey said. “But they still put me on maternity.”
In addition to her struggles with the paramedics, Kelsey recalled the shocking way that police treated her home so soon after her baby’s death.
“When I walked out of my house, the police walked in, and they called it a crime scene,” she revealed. “So obviously, you’re worried as well. I’m going through this, and I think, ‘What do they think I’ve done?'”
Despite being distraught over the loss, Kelsey remembered going into protective mode telling officers, “Can we watch the vocab that’s happening in this house? Because there are two children that are here that can hear everything that’s going on,” referring to her and Tom’s two kids, Aurelia, 6, and Bodhi, 4.
During the broadcast, cohost Ben Shephard read a statement from the Met Police, acknowledging where they fell short while handling such a sensitive situation.
“We acknowledge that referring to the address as a crime scene was inappropriate, that the family could and should have been treated in a more sensitive way,” the statement read. “Learning has been implemented to prevent this happening again. A detective inspector has offered to meet with the family alongside a child bereavement nurse and arrangements are ongoing for this to take place.”
The King’s Hospital Foundation also issued a statement, saying, “We’d like to extend our deepest sympathies once again to Kelsey and her family for their loss.”
A spokesperson for the London Ambulance service told the network, “We sincerely apologize for any additional stress caused,” adding that they have met with Kelsey and her family to discuss what transpired.
Kelsey confirmed that she did meet with the ambulance service to discuss her care and was taken aback by some of the responses.
“And when I met with the ambulance service, they said they’re sorry, but their paramedics hadn’t seen a dead baby before,” she said. “So that just broke me as well. What’s my reply to that? You’re the people that I’m relying on in this situation.”
When cohost Cat Deeley said, “I have no idea where you get the strength from,” Kelsey replied, “I have no other option than to be strong.”
She recalled losing Tom in March 2022 when she had an 18-month old baby and a 2-year-old before the stillbirth trauma last year. (Tom died at the age of 33 after being diagnosed with glioblastoma, an inoperable brain tumor, in 2020.)
“Maybe I’m sent these things to help other people because I am resilient. I am strong. And I’m really positive,” Kelsey concluded.
While Kelsey has had her fair share of heartache, she announced last month that she and partner Lindsay are expecting another baby.
“A year ago next month, we lost our beautiful baby boy, Phoenix 🤍,” Kelsey wrote via Instagram on May 31, sharing a video of the sonogram. “And somehow, through all the heartbreak, it feels like Tom and Phoenix have sent us another little gift from heaven our little rainbow baby ✨.”
On Monday, Kelsey showed off her baby bump, telling viewers, “I feel really good. I’m not anxious.”
