England international Missy Bo Kearns speaks for the first time about her miscarriage, telling Stacey Foster that baby loss is ‘a different type of grief’ and how sepsis led to ‘days of hell in hospital’ with her partner Liam Walsh
When I first met Missy Bo Kearns, we’d been invited to Aston Villa to film her at the club following her pregnancy announcement.
The 24-year-old midfielder was excited at the idea of becoming the first England international in recent years to give birth and return to international football. She hoped to get back into the Lionesses squad in time for next year’s World Cup in Brazil.
Before we were able to do the interview, Missy was taken to the hospital. She’d started to feel unwell.
We were shocked and really concerned.
I remember seeing Missy as she left Villa’s training ground, Bodymoor Heath, with her partner Liam Walsh, a midfielder at Luton Town.
We exchanged reassuring smiles, and I said I’d see her soon, and I genuinely thought we would. We both did.
I found out, like everyone else, that Missy and Liam had lost their baby when she announced it on Instagram a few weeks later. They asked for privacy and time to heal.
Five weeks after that first visit, we were invited to Aston Villa’s training.
Missy is back at work, and we meet again, under another cloudless Spring sky. But she is here to tell a different story.
Missy Bo Kearns tells how her life ‘changed, just like that’ as she learnt in hospital that she had developed sepsis and lost her baby
Missy Bo is the heart and soul of Aston Villa. Their number seven is a joker; she’s full of mischief and has a smile that radiates around the building.
It’s only her third day back. She is being monitored closely during her recovery from a “septic miscarriage”.
When we start the interview, it’s obvious that Missy is ready to tell her story. After all, her team had been in touch to say she wanted to speak to us, and as we started, her feelings spilt out.
She takes me back to that day in March, when she got “the shivers”, and the club doctor, Jodie Blackadder-Weinstein, advised her to call Liam straight away, and go to the hospital.
“It was one of the biggest shocks of my life. I thought it was just like a pregnancy symptom, and the doctor came in and checked my temperature…,” Missy says.
“I was 42 degrees, but I was shaking. And the doctor said to me, ‘Where’s Liam?’ And I was like, ‘I’m not going back to the hospital. I literally went a few days ago. Everything’s fine. They told me everything’s fine.’ And she said, ‘Ring Liam.’ And I was like, ‘He’s had a night game. He’s in bed still.'”
“But I rang him, and he came. We went to the hospital, and that’s when we found out that straight away, we had lost the baby and that I’d got sepsis.”
“So, it was difficult, like it was a shock, because I’d literally been doing Pilates and gym an hour before, and my whole life just changed like that.”
Missy Bo Kearns at Aston Villa and United Women’s Barclays Women’s Super League match in November 2025. Credit: PA
Anyone who has experience of pregnancy loss will instantly relate to what Missy Bo says.
“Is there something I’ve done? Is there something I didn’t? But it’s not. And I hope people out there who’ve been through it know that it’s what’s meant to be, will be, and it happens for a reason, even though it’s so hard to come to terms with that; there’s nothing that you can do to stop it or prevent it.
“So that’s one message that I’d like to get out there, because I can tell you now a lot of people have probably had thoughts that I’ve had, or what my partner might have had, like, did we not check something, or were we not clear on something?
“But there’s literally nothing you can do. And other than trying your best to believe that everything happens for a reason, and to be positive. And there’s always a time, next time.
“And I think that’s what’s the hardest thing, because you overthink. Well, I personally overthink a lot, and I think a lot of women definitely do.”
In a message to others who have been through baby loss, Kearns urges them not to blame themselves for something they have no control over
Missy Bo says the medical team at Villa saved her life, but all she could think about was losing her child.
“We had to go through like, three, four days of hell in hospital, the two of us, up in Birmingham. I don’t think we realised how much we went through until now, when you sit back.
“I’m so thankful for the doctors here at Villa, because if I was at home that day, and I probably would have rung, my mum saying, ‘Oh, I feel a bit like flu-ish symptoms’, everyone would just say, ‘Have a sleep’ or whatnot.
“And Jodie made me go to the hospital, and I was not wanting to go, because there’s nothing worse than obviously going to a hospital.
“But they probably saved my life because I had sepsis, and while having that, I wasn’t even thinking about the sepsis. It was ‘I’ve lost my child’.”
She cannot say enough times how grateful she is for the support she has had. From both her home club, Aston Villa, England, her partner’s club, Luton Town, their team-mates, their families, but also from strangers.
Missy also says she is proud of Liam, who, weeks after the miscarriage, lifted the Vertu Trophy at Wembley with Luton Town.
The “perks” of football are not lost on her. She knows she has more support than many and is grateful for it, but she hopes that by opening the conversation, she can offer something to others going through the same experience.
“You actually feel like you’re the only person it’s ever happened to. But really, it’s so common, and that’s why I think it’s important that the message is out there and don’t feel alone and stuff, because it’s happened to so many people.”
“I think people might not realise how much of a toll it actually has on someone. I think obviously everyone knows how hard it must be to lose a child, but obviously, because of the highs of finding out you’re pregnant, and the stress of being pregnant, and like, the worries of getting past the 12 week mark, and like, it’s so stressful, even though it’s so exciting.
“I think to then have that crash, and then suddenly you’re not pregnant, and your hormones change, your symptoms start to go, like overnight. I think it’s a different type of grief. It’s not [something] that I’ve ever experienced before…”
“I just think everyone obviously grieves differently… I think a lot of people, if someone’s going through a miscarriage, they don’t know.
“People don’t tell people that they’ve been through it. They suffer in silence. And I just hope that people may not suffer in silence now, knowing that, like I’m here, if anyone wants to speak, there are charities like Tommy’s, so many other charities that, if anyone needs them, have reached out to me for support.”
Kearns tells of her road to recovery, both physical and emotional, and her hopes for next year’s World Cup
And she is honest about how losing the baby has impacted her mentally.
“Now it’s when it starts to feel real, when you’ve got to start organising things, then when you realise the plans that you had, like coming up aren’t the same plans no more.
“This is when it starts to hit you. And I think I’d say the past week or so is where it’s hit me. Most of them, I’ve been struggling like a lot more than the first week or so, I’d say.
“I think I’ve been trying to keep myself busy. I wouldn’t say I’m fully coping. Yeah, there are days like today where I feel good. I’ve been in and around the [Aston Villa] girls and stuff.
“I’ve done my bike, I’ve done my testing, like, ready to get back onto it. But yesterday, I was upset all day because I got some news that the things we have to sort and it just comes and goes in waves.
“And I think keeping myself busy, I think going to watch Liam’s games, has helped.
“But also, I’ve been kind of trying to go through it a bit isolated, than having time to myself and to ourselves, like not being around people.
“That’s helped me a lot. I get a bit anxious being around people in case they asked me how I am and stuff, because I don’t want to talk about it all the time.
“But sometimes I’m in a mood where I want to talk about it. I want to let my emotions out and what’s on my chest and stuff. So, it just depends. I wouldn’t say I’ve got a full coping mechanism.
“I’m hoping now that I’m well enough to come back into football, getting back fit and training, being around my friends.”
Missy turned 25 while navigating this most difficult time in her life and football career.
She moved to Birmingham in 2024 after making more than 100 appearances in the Women’s Super League for Liverpool.
In the summer of 2025, Missy made her England senior debut in the Lionesses’ Nations League tie away to Spain. Her first start for England came six months later in a friendly against Ghana.
Missy says she is in no rush to return to competitive football, especially this close to the end of the season. She wants to be mentally and physically ready.
She mentions a sevens-tournament in the summer, but says pre-season is her focus for now.
What is clear, though, is that, despite everything that has changed in only a few weeks, her ambitions have stayed the same. She wants to play for England at next summer’s World Cup in Brazil.
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“I’ve got to do a return-to-play protocol. So, it’s been like a big, full process, because when I’m injured, I hate doing rehab and stuff as it is, but I’m not actually injured, but I need to gradually build my body back up.
“I do know that being back in football, it’s my happy place, and I’m here now, and I’m excited to be here and like, keep trying to build and build and get myself right ready for next season.
“I want to come back in pre-season and be back to the Missy Bo everyone knows who’s smiling, happy, winding people up non-stop.
“And I think it’s a big year next year, and my plan while I was pregnant was to make the World Cup squad, and that’s not changed.”
“So, the next few months is getting myself, physically, mentally strong, ready for a big season, and to try and make the World Cup squad and also have a positive full season for villa, like I’m just excited.
“I’ve realised, like there’s more to life than football, but now I’m going to enjoy every minute of football like it’s my last because it could have been.”
If you have been affected by the issues discussed in this article, below are some organisations you can contact for support:
The Miscarriage Association: Offers a helpline (0303 003 6464), email support, and local support groups. miscarriageassociation.org.uk
Tommy’s: Provides a midwife-staffed helpline (0800 0147 800) and comprehensive, evidence-based information. tommys.org/pregnancy-information/help-and-support
Sands (Stillbirth & Neonatal Death Charity): Supports anyone affected by baby loss with bereavement support (0808 164 3332). sands.org.uk
Petals: A charity providing free specialist counselling for psychological distress after baby loss. petalscharity.org
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