Giovanna Fletcher emotionally shares miscarriage after ‘surprise’ pregnancy at age 40

Giovanna Fletcher has revealed she suffered a miscarriage last year following a ‘surprise’ pregnancy at the age of 40.

The author and podcaster, now 41, shared the news on the 300th episode of her hit show Happy Mum Happy Baby, as she swapped seats with her best friend Emma Willis and became the one being interviewed.

Fletcher, who has been married to Tom Fletcher since 2012, shares three sons (Buzz, Buddy and Max) with the McFly singer.

But during Tuesday’s episode, she disclosed that she experienced what she described as a ‘chemical pregnancy.’

‘I had another miscarriage last year, a chemical pregnancy, well it was a surprise pregnancy,’ she told Willis, becoming emotional. ‘I haven’t talked about it publicly, but also my response to it was very different this time. Don’t get me wrong, it was f**** ing hard.’

Holding back tears, Fletcher explained that the loss had prompted her to reflect on how miscarriage is discussed — and when.

‘I don’t agree with the 12-week rule, you need the support of the people around you,’ she said, challenging the long-held convention that couples wait until the end of the first trimester to share pregnancy news. ‘So allow yourself to feel other people’s joy, but also their sadness if there is a loss.’

The pregnancy, she revealed, had already begun to reshape her plans. She had reorganised the year ahead in anticipation of welcoming another baby and had even felt relief at the prospect of slowing down.

‘When the pregnancy ended, I suddenly thought well, I need to maybe change how I do things in 2026, because I need to be able to enjoy the things I am doing, rather than constantly feeling like I am just getting through the things, because they’re all things I love doing,’ she said. ‘Let’s not get through, let’s enjoy life.’

Fletcher reflected that discovering she was expecting at 40 felt markedly different from her previous pregnancies.

‘It did feel so different and it’s a very individual thing and for me I’ve got three incredible kids and four is a lot of kids,’ she said.

‘It’s one of those things where if the pregnancy had worked out, then it would have been a blessing. What a blessing to have another baby, like that is such an incredible thing.

‘However, I am so comfortable with this chapter that we’re in now and it felt very different to be going through a loss that isn’t surrounded by desperation and that fear that it might never happen.

‘I am not pining, but it’s been a different thing to get my head around.’

The honesty will not surprise listeners. Since launching Happy Mum Happy Baby eight years ago, Fletcher has helped reshape the public conversation around motherhood.

The podcast — which grew out of her 2017 Sunday Times bestselling debut, Happy Mum, Happy Baby: My Adventures in Motherhood — has run for nearly 300 episodes and amassed more than 30 million downloads, featuring guests including Davina McCall, Keira Knightley and the Catherine, Princess of Wales.

Topics ranging from birth trauma to maternal mental health and ‘mum guilt’ have become central to its appeal, and miscarriage has long been part of that conversation.

In a 2020 interview with The Sun, Fletcher said: ‘I think it’s so important that people are open about miscarriages, every time someone brings this topic of conversation up it helps so many people, because it’s such a lonely thing to go through and hearing other people express themselves when you can’t find the words to help people understand what you’re going through is so important.’

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