{"id":488345,"date":"2025-10-10T12:41:15","date_gmt":"2025-10-10T12:41:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/488345\/"},"modified":"2025-10-10T12:41:15","modified_gmt":"2025-10-10T12:41:15","slug":"heartache-of-our-vanished-twin-by-married-love-island-stars-olivia-and-alex-bowen-couple-break-silence-on-shock-and-grief-reveal-what-happened-and-tell-of-traumatic-consequences","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/488345\/","title":{"rendered":"Heartache of our vanished twin, by married Love Island stars Olivia and Alex Bowen. Couple break silence on shock and grief, reveal what happened… and tell of traumatic consequences"},"content":{"rendered":"

They were the first Love Island couple to marry, but even before the confetti had been swept up a chorus of doubters were predicting they\u2019d divorce. Yet almost ten years since first meeting on the show, Olivia and Alex Bowen<\/a> have just welcomed their second child, daughter Siena, to complete their family of four.<\/p>\n

It hasn\u2019t been easy though, and their roller-coaster past year has taken in pregnancy joy, \u2018vanishing twin syndrome\u2019 and a near-fatal birth. Now their new six-part TV series Olivia And Alex: Parenthood covers it all, lifting the lid on family life with all the fragility and chaos that goes with it<\/a>. \u2018This is 100 per cent the most vulnerable we\u2019ve ever had to be on TV,\u2019 says Olivia, 31. \u2018It\u2019s been challenging, but we now have a little boy and a little girl \u2013 we\u2019re so lucky.<\/p>\n

\u2018If we were going to do it, it had to be realistic and raw not glossy – not just all the best parts of our life. We\u2019ve never let cameras in like this before. What you see is very much what you get with both me and Alex,\u2019 says Olivia. Alex, 34, nods: \u2018There\u2019s enough of that gloss on TV. We want something honest.\u2019<\/p>\n

Just weeks after finding out Olivia was pregnant they had to deal with the heartache of vanishing twin syndrome. \u2018We went in expecting to see one baby on the screen and there were two,\u2019 Olivia recalls<\/a>. Alex was shocked. \u2018Seeing two babies when we were expecting one was probably the biggest surprise of my life,\u2019 he says. \u2018It was the most amazing feeling.\u2019<\/p>\n

But the following weeks were traumatic. \u2018We went for the eight-week scan and as soon as she showed us my belly, you could see there was no heartbeat and no movement from one of them. I couldn\u2019t look at Alex because I knew he\u2019d be heartbroken. It was such a shock because there\u2019d been no signs,\u2019 says Olivia.<\/p>\n

\u2018Then every scan we went to we\u2019d see one baby thriving and the other slowly disappearing. One just stops developing and then dies in the womb. It reabsorbs into your body and eventually just disappears. So it\u2019s like it never existed.\u2019<\/p>\n

Alex and Olivia grieved differently. \u2018It always hits me really hard straight away,\u2019 says Alex. \u2018I took myself off to the bathroom to cry because I could see how much pain she was in.\u2019 But Olivia says, \u2018I felt numb at the start then I needed to talk. But I try not to take anything negative from it any more \u2013 we\u2019re lucky to still have Siena here.\u2019<\/p>\n

But her birth was terrifying too. It began calmly until Olivia felt something was wrong. \u2018We ended up having a C-section, and I had a really bad haemorrhage. I lost 2.8 litres of blood,\u2019 she recalls. \u2018We didn\u2019t know what was going to happen but we got here safely in the end. You realise what you\u2019ve got and what matters. You realise how fragile everything is.\u2019<\/p>\n

\"Olivia <\/p>\n

Olivia and Alex Bowen, who met on Love Island in 2016, have two children<\/p>\n

\"Olivia <\/p>\n

Olivia with her children Abel, born in 2022 and Siena, born earlier this year<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The couple’s new six-part series,\u00a0Olivia And Alex: Parenthood, lifts the lid on family life<\/p>\n

Before all of this there were other shadows. Olivia has spoken previously about an earlier emotionally abusive relationship that left her wary and anxious.<\/a> Meeting Alex on the second series of Love Island series in 2016 restored her trust.<\/p>\n

\u2018I think that was one of the reasons I went in to be honest, I just needed to do something for myself and I was at a bit of a crossroads. I wasn\u2019t happy and didn\u2019t feel like I had anything, so I just thought, \u201cWhat have I got to lose – let\u2019s just go for it.\u201d\u2019<\/p>\n

It paid off when Alex arrived on day 18 as \u2018a bombshell\u2019 and she coupled up with him two days later, with them going on to finish as runners-up on the show.<\/p>\n

They\u2019ve consistently described their connection as an immediate spark but Olivia admits, \u2018At the start, I was very untrusting because I had my trust broken previously, so Alex would always be very patient. He\u2019d sit me down and give me the time of day. We literally could be ourselves, our weird selves,\u2019 she smiles.<\/p>\n

And Olivia has helped Alex overcome his demons too. He talks quietly about how the suicide of his best friend pushed him to use his platform to talk about men\u2019s mental health and now he channelled his grief into endurance challenges for charities such as Mind. \u2018I need to be doing something a little bit more. I\u2019ll get a few people messaging me saying, \u201cYou\u2019ve really helped me,\u201d and that just makes my day – the fact I\u2019ve just helped one person.\u2019<\/p>\n

They faced a barrage of judgment as soon as they emerged from Love Island. \u2018It was a huge culture shock. The hardest part was everyone having an opinion. At the start, that was very hard to deal with,\u2019 Olivia says. \u2018Someone has an opinion of me, but that\u2019s literally none of my business.\u2019<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s parenthood that has given them the gift of perspective. \u2018Suddenly I turned 30 and I literally don\u2019t care anymore. After having kids, other opinions just fade away,\u2019 says Olivia.<\/p>\n

First time around Olivia struggled with postpartum anxiety, but this time she\u2019s anchored by experience and can pass on advice to other parents.<\/a> \u2018Just trust yourself,\u2019 she says. \u2018Try and slow down. It\u2019s hard the first time around but you\u2019re the mum – you know best.\u2019<\/p>\n

They\u2019ve also learnt a lot as a couple becoming first-time parents as they now check in rather than drift. \u2018We had a bit of a breakdown in communication,\u2019 Olivia admits when Abel was born. \u2018But this time we realised that we just need to speak to each other more and be open.\u2019<\/p>\n

Alex, meanwhile, says the sentiment that underpins their family – and their new show – is determination: \u2018We\u2019re not quitters. When times are tough, we just work through them.\u2019<\/p>\n