Made In Chelsea's Louise Thompson's partner says traumatic birth led to 'suicide watch'

Ryan Libbey, 33, recently opened up for the first time about how his fiancee Louise Thompson’s near-death experience in 2021 had affected him. Louise, 34, went through 36 hours of labour before having a four hour C-section and losing all her blood, leading to a later diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Although Louise has been open about her postpartum struggles, Ryan has not publicly discussed the difficult time they went through together until now.

On Joshua Patterson’s Exercising The Demons podcast, Ryan shared, “She went through 36 hours of labour and then had a C-section where she lost her entire blood supply.

"For two years after, Louise had a prolonged recovery where I took on the primary caregiver role for Leo, and it took a toll on me.”

The fitness influencer explained how the family had to adapt to having regular medical staff in their home to check on Louise’s well-being.

He said: “When I say it was bad, I don’t think it could have been much worse in terms of the environment we had to exist in.

"We had daily visits from caregivers. They were monitoring her for signs of suicide, and she was saying things like, ‘I can’t get through this, and I don’t even want to’. She could barely even look at Leo.”

Louise told Closer magazine that the couple is embarking on a “new chapter” after a difficult period, including her stoma surgery due to the bowel condition, Ulcerative Colitis.

She revealed: “I think anyone who’s been through trauma will know that sometimes some relationships fall apart. Trauma trickles through every single aspect of life.

"Now I’m in a place two and a half years down the line where I look back, and I am thanking Ryan for various things that he did.

"But there were moments early on where we completely fell apart – we had no relationship.

“We shouldn’t have stayed together – things were really destructive. I think we were both just dealing with our own versions of trauma and handling it very differently," she finished.

The couple got engaged back in 2018, after they began dating in 2016 and planned to marry in a Christmas-themed wedding the following year, though they ultimately decided to call the ceremony off because they didn't want to "rush into anything".

However, Louise has now shared that she and Ryan recently had a "big conversation" about getting married.

"Ryan and I had a big conversation about it recently. We went to the park and chatted for about four hours, and I realised he really does want to get married," she told OK! magazine.

"He explained he would feel like his life wouldn't be complete without it. That was important to me because when we first got engaged we didn't have a big push to do it quickly, and then I was ill for a very long time."

If you are struggling with mental health, you can speak to a trained advisor from Mind mental health charity on 0300 123 3393 or email info@mind.org.uk