Dancing On Ice star Chelsee Healey reveals she suffered miscarriage
By Charlotte McLaughlin, PA Senior Entertainment Reporter
Soap star Chelsee Healey has said she suffered a miscarriage, shortly after beginning training for Dancing On Ice.
The British actress, 36, who rose to fame as Janeece Bryant on BBC school drama Waterloo Road, was the first celebrity to exit ITV’s ice skating show, departing after a skate-off with comedian Josh Jones.
Also known for her roles as Honey Wright in the BBC medical drama series Casualty and Goldie McQueen in the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, Healey wrote on Instagram that she had not been able to talk about her miscarriage until now “because it’s been too painful”.
She also said she was sharing her story so she “can help other women going through something similar”.
Healey added: “Whilst committed to DOI and the busy training schedule, to our shock we discovered that I was pregnant.
A post shared by CHELSEE HEALEY (@chelseehealey)
“Within weeks of finding out this news, before me and my family could allow this news to sink in and digest it, I suffered a miscarriage.
“Understandably this really did devastate me and hit me deeply, finding out this news and then having it taken in such a short proof of time (sic) is an awful lot to deal with. I know I am beyond blessed to have two beautiful daughters but the grief still feels enormous.
“I am grieving for the little soul I carried momentarily who I’ll never get to meet, the sibling that my girls will never get to have. The child that will forever leave my heart curious with the ‘what ifs’. And it is painful.”
She also said that she thought she “could just carry on but anyone who knows me, knew I wasn’t right”, and miscarriage loss “hurts differently and I can’t just move on, not yet anyway”.
Healey added: “I think that my little baby deserves to be honoured by me allowing myself to feel all the emotions, all the sadness for what will not be. There is no shame in that.
“For any woman going through something similar. I am truly sorry for your loss and I hope you are allowed to express and feel your emotions. I hope you find your way through this. Our heavenly children deserve a place in our hearts.”
Healey also thanked her family, Dancing On Ice, and ITV along with her skating partner Andy Buchanan for their “support”.
Buchanan and reality star Ferne McCann, who was the second celebrity eliminated from Dancing On ice, commented on the post.
McCann wrote: “You’re a formidable force. And it was a pleasure working alongside you when you was going through all of this darling. Your girlies are lucky to have such a strong mamma.”
Buchanan wrote: “You’re a special person and I can’t express how much I respect you as a friend and a partner.
“Knowing what you were going through, you always impressed me with how you put on a brave face and treated everyone around you with such kindness, even on you most difficult days. You’re brave for sharing this.”
Healey has previously spoken about having a difficult first birth with her daughter, Coco, who she shares with former partner Jack Molloy.
She said in 2017 that she had an emergency Caesarean to deliver her daughter, after the “worst and longest labour”.
In 2023, she announced the birth of her second daughter, Cookie Al Rainford, with another partner.
On Sunday, Jones revealed he was leaving Dancing On Ice early after suffering an ankle injury, saying he was “gutted” to be “eliminated by gravity”.