Olivia Bowen left fighting for life during baby's birth after losing pints of blood

Olivia and Alex Bowenare now settled into life as a family of four after becoming parents for the second time to little Siena Grace Bowen. The much-wanted sibling for three-year-old Abel has made their family "100 per cent complete", says former Love Islander Olivia, 31, but it hasn't been an easy journey to reach this point.

After very sadly losing Siena's twin early in the pregnancy, due to what's known as "vanishing twin syndrome", Olivia was hoping for a stress-free and relaxed labour at home. But as she sits down with OK! to introduce Siena for the first time, she reveals how her labour turned involved "the scariest moment of her life".

After trying to achieve her wish of a home birth, Olivia and Alex, who she met on the second series of Love Island back in 2016, went into hospital and were admitted for an emergency caesarean section.

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“I was lying on the operating table with no idea what was happening,” she shares. “Then I remember Siena was pulled out and she was absolutely fine and crying, which is exactly what you want to hear. Then it just went so quiet, and there was a lot going on that I couldn’t see. Alex and I both thought the worst. I heard a siren and the words, ‘severe haemorrhage’.

“I just remember thinking, ‘I need to keep my eyes open,’ because I felt myself flagging. That was probably the scariest moment of my life. I’ve never been in a situation like that, where I genuinely feared for my life. I later learnt that I lost 2.8 litres of blood, and three litres can be fatal.”

Alex, 34, understandably struggles with the memory of watching his Olivia go through something so traumatic. The experience, he says, has further cemented his feeling that he doesn't want any more children.

“I’m not going to sugar-coat it,” he says. “I really struggled with both births. They’ve been traumatic for us. A lot of people say it’s the most beautiful thing ever, but, in my experience, it hasn’t been. We’re definitely two and done. All I care about now is that Liv’s safe and the babies are safe. I don’t want to focus on why or how it happened.”

Now that some time has passed, Olivia says she's processed what happened and is "at peace with it". She's fully focussed on enjoying the early newborn cuddles, and watching Abel relish is role as "amazing big brother".

The couple are also gearing up for the launch of their new ITV2 reality series, Olivia & Alex: Parenthood, which began filming in June. It's been a "dream come true" so far, Olivia says, and she can't wait for people to see how they've changed and grown since finding fame - and love - on Love Island almost a decade ago.

“Obviously we’ve changed so much since Love Island ,” she says. “We’re now a family of four and life is very different. We’ve always wanted to do some TV again but it’s never been the right time, and even though we’ve had some difficult times, we always manage to find the light. I hope it inspires other people to do the same.”

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