As Olivia and Alex Bowen introduce their new daughter for the first time, former Love Islander Olivia recalls the terrifying moment she ‘feared for her life’ during baby Siena’s birth
Alex and Olivia Bowen can’t wipe the smiles off their faces as they introduce six-week-old daughter Siena Grace – and declare their family of four “complete”. The couple are besotted by their new addition, a sister for three-year-old Abel, and as they invite OK! into their home for the first exclusive interview since her birth, they are refreshingly honest.
Siena arrived just after midnight on 14 August, weighing a healthy 7lb 12oz. But mum Olivia suffered a serious haemorrhage and says she remembers literally forcing herself to stay awake and fight for her life. “It’s been a whirlwind,” 31-year-old Olivia smiles, as Siena dozes in her arms. “We’ve had time to process what happened, and I’m at peace with it. I wanted a homebirth but, spoiler alert, I didn’t get one!”
Siena’s birth followed a difficult pregnancy – after learning they were expecting twins, the couple discovered at an early scan that, sadly, they had lost one of the babies due to what’s known as “vanishing twin syndrome”. So it was an anxious pregnancy full of mixed emotions. But after a difficult forceps labour with Abel, Olivia was determined to rewrite her birth story and have a positive delivery with Siena.
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However, labour at the couple’s Essex home didn’t progress as planned and Olivia was forced to go to hospital for an emergency Caesarean section. “I was lying on the operating table with no idea what was happening,” she tells us, softly. “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 doesn’t like to dwell on what he witnessed that day. The 34-year-old remained as “positive as he could” in the moment, but says he’d happily never talk about either of his children’s deliveries again due to the trauma he and Olivia faced – and the idea of any more is well and truly off the table.
“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.”
Despite the harrowing details, Olivia says she wants to share her story to not only give a “shout out to all blood donors” and thank hospital staff, but to highlight that there were some positives.
After experiencing postnatal anxiety following Abel’s birth, and having therapy “for quite a while”, she wanted to go into Siena’s birth feeling more empowered. She did a lot of research into homebirths and says that knowledge was invaluable.
“It taught me that it’s important to make your own decisions, and I did that, so I don’t feel bad. I don’t have any guilt or think, ‘I messed that up.’ This time, I know I tried my hardest and what happened, happened. But Siena is here, safe and I’m getting better. That’s what’s important.”
Viewers of Alex and Olivia’s upcoming six-part ITV2 reality series, Olivia & Alex: Parenthood , will get more insight into Siena’s birth and her introduction to Abel – who delivered homemade cupcakes to his mum and Siena in hospital.
“It’s those little bits that I’ll never forget,” Olivia beams. “Like being in labour in his bedroom and Abel was breathing through a contraction with me. He didn’t have a clue what was happening but was totally there for me, it was so sweet. I also have a photo of me and Alex at home staring intently at each other while I was contracting. Staring into those eyes got me through the pain of childbirth.”
She adds, “Our family is 100% complete. I couldn’t be happier. Having a little girl and a little boy is just what dreams are made of, honestly.”
The family started filming in June and have stayed true to their warts-and-all approach. While they’re a bit “out of practice” in front of the cameras, Olivia laughs, it’s been a “dream come true”.
“Obviously we’ve changed so much since Love Island,” she continues. “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.”
Losing Siena’s twin was Alex’s second big loss. His friend Joe Richards took his own life in 2022, and Alex has since worked to support men’s mental health and tackle the stigma around male suicide – including working with the Samaritans.
He’s always been a “good talker”, he admits. “I wear my heart on my sleeve. If I’m happy, you’ll know, if I’m sad, you’ll know. I know not every man is like that. Losing my best friend was the toughest thing I’ve ever had to go through, and because I had a platform, I needed to do my part and speak about it. There’s no stigma around men talking about their feelings, I’m proof of that.”
Olivia and Alex are one of Love Island ’s biggest success stories. And while a lot has changed, they’re still the “same people, just with a few more wrinkles”, Alex grins.
So what has been the key to avoiding the reality show curse? “Me and Liv aren’t quitters,” Alex says. “A lot of couples quit – it’s easy to jump on your phone and see if the grass is greener. But me and Liv are meant to be together. Yes, there are probably times where she’s been sick of me, but we’ve always worked at it.”
Olivia adds, “We got married because we want to be with each other for life. Do we argue? Yes. But do we always want to work through any problem? Yes. That’s why we’ve included everything in the show – we’re a normal couple trying to enjoy life, concentrating on the things that matter.”
But the decision to involve Abel and Siena wasn’t taken lightly.
“The world and social media are scary places, but we can’t allow things to stop us living our lives,” Olivia says. “While they’re still young, we’ll protect them as much as possible. But the minute one of them says they’re not happy with it, they can stop.”
One thing they’re excited to show is the bond forming between the children. Abel, born in June 2022, is already an “amazing big brother”, Olivia beams, and he’s always around to lend a well-intentioned hand.
It isn’t lost on the couple that Abel could have had two siblings. But Olivia says, although she’s still grieving, she couldn’t be happier with Siena and Abel. “It’s nice to still have thoughts about the twin that we lost. I try to enjoy the feeling of remembering them. We’ll never forget them.”
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