Louise Thompson has revealed she is set to spend her first night alone in over two years as she leaned on her brother, Sam, for support on Wednesday.
The former Made In Chelsea star, 34, shared a sweet sibling snap to Instagram and explained that it was ‘quite a big’ evening because she was spending the night without her husband Ryan and her son Leo, two.
Appearing in happy spirits, Louise said that while she was ‘excited for some peace and quiet’, she felt grateful to live so close to her family because it had ‘saved her butt on a number of occasions’.
Posting a cutie selfie and a clip of Sam burping in her face, she captioned her post: ‘This is my first night at home alone, without Ryan, Without Leo, Without Ryan AND Leo together in 2 1/2 years. Quite big.
‘I was actually feeling rather excited for some peace and quiet… and then Sam turned up and burped in my face.
Louise Thompson has revealed she is set to spend her first night alone in over two years as she leaned on her brother, Sam, for support on Wednesday
The former Made In Chelsea star, 34, shared a sweet sibling snap to Instagram and explained that it was ‘quite a big’ evening because she was spending the night without her husband Ryan and her son Leo, two
‘Then we got stuck into a Thompson Adhd chat. Oh the joys of a ‘live photo’ getting to re-live these magical experiences. Now you know why we fortified the house with a 5m fence.
‘On a serious note I feel vvvvVVVVvvv grateful (and safe) living near and next to so many of my family members. That safety has saved my butt on a number of occasions.
‘Before Sam left he actually got his phone out and showed me that he’s called me every day for the past month. We literally went through his phone records as proof. I had no idea. I feel honored, especially given he’s the busiest bloody boy I know!!
‘I’m learning to pick up. I’ve even taken myself off ‘do not disturb’.’
Her post comes just days after she shared a ‘depressing’ photo from her son Leo’s birth after suffering from a ‘challenging’ week with her health.
In the candid update, to mark Birth Trauma Awareness Week, the TV personality reflected honestly on ‘where she is at’ as she works through her debilitating conditions.
Louise spent five weeks in hospital after suffering ‘serious complications’ during her son’s birth in November 2021 and was left with both post traumatic stress disorder and post-natal anxiety.
In April this year she revealed she had been fitted with a stoma after years of battling with ulcerative colitis and an auto immune disorder.
Louise said that while she was ‘excited for some peace and quiet’, she felt grateful to live so close to her family because it had ‘saved her butt on a number of occasions’
Her post comes just days after she shared a ‘depressing’ photo from her son Leo’s birth after suffering from a ‘challenging’ week with her health
Louise spent five weeks in hospital suffering ‘serious complications’ during her son’s birth in November 2021 and was left with PTSD (pictured with Leo and fiancé Ryan Libbey)
Sharing a photo from the moment she met Leo for the first time, Louise could be seen wearing a hospital gown while sitting in a wheelchair.
In a lengthy caption, she wrote: ‘Gosh this photo is depressing. I took the week off social media.
‘Actually, I took the week off my phone full stop. I think it was necessary. Did anything bad happen? Yes. Did anything good happen? Yes. I’d highly recommend it. You could use this as an excuse to take a holiday from SM, too.
‘Having said that, I couldn’t hold off from posting today because today marks the final day of Birth Trauma Awareness Week, and this one feels particularly close to my heart.
‘Not trauma dumping, just an honest account of where I’m at because I’m sure some of you might be able to relate, and you may even find some comfort in what I’m writing. Plus it feels fairly timely.
‘This week has actually been a particularly challenging one for me. As a family, we created lots of space for ‘nothingness.’ Zero distraction. Zero doing. Zero responsibility. Just emptiness. Empty diaries and empty brains. Which has meant ample moments for memories to seep in.
‘I still maintain that my ptsd brain HATES TRAVEL. It also hates solitude. I typically like to fill my boots with lots of dopamine-inducing behaviours. I also like routine and my brain likes to find patterns attached to safety.
‘So this was a big change. I was triggered a bit. Even the book I was reading made me think a little TOO much about some of the less pleasant things in life.
‘However, the hope (or knowledge – because it’s happened previously) is that I’ll come back a little bit mentally stronger after pushing through these quiet getaways. I guess you could say it’s a bit like the process of doing therapy.’
Sharing a photo from the moment she met Leo for the first time, Louise could be seen wearing a hospital gown while sitting in a wheelchair
Reflecting on her journey, Louise continued: ‘It’s really painful at the time, but you’ve got to take a few steps back in order to take a giant leap forward’ (pictured this year)
Reflecting on her journey, Louise continued: ‘It’s really painful at the time, but you’ve got to take a few steps back in order to take a giant leap forward. You often feel worse after therapy because you’ve had to drudge up deep and painful emotions, and the process can bring a lot of discomfort… BUT the reality is you tend to feel a bit lighter moving forward into your future.
‘This last week unfortunately I suffered with a couple of intense migraines and felt pretty sick too. Generally speaking I have had a beautiful time exploring and spending more time laughing with Leo but there have been moments where I’ve had to put on a bit of a brave face.
‘I wonder whether i’m having a bit of an autoimmune flare-up as well because i’m experiencing nerve pain, inflammation on my scalp, extreme brain fog and fatigue, and weird things happening with my stoma and bum.
‘For context, I’m currently sat with a bag of ice perched on top of my head – partly (and an accidental discovery) refraining me from twitching my neck, partly working to reduce my sore head). When I talk about this sort of stuff I know I’m not alone.
‘I have loads of you messaging me about your experiences every day… so i’ll continue to keep talking about this topic and to continue to raise awareness. I actually had a brilliant conversation with a lady about her traumatic birth last night at this hotel in Fowey. I felt really good after speaking to her. I slept really well too.
‘One thing I’ve taken away from this week away is that maybe I need to consider doing therapy with my clinical psychologist again. It might even be time to think about doing EMDR again, although I’m understandably apprehensive. Anyone who has read my book will know why.’
She concluded: ‘That’s the crazy thing about ptsd from birth trauma. It doesn’t just disappear. You don’t just forget. You might have to deal with memories of a traumatic birth for an annoying amount of time. An unnecessary amount of time. You might be left with lasting physical damage.
‘That’s why I want to STOP other people from going through what I went through. I will shout about it from the rooftops if I can help just one other person avoid birth trauma… especially since others might not be as fortunate to be in the privileged circumstances I was when it came to recovering on the other side. I often recognise those privileges. It doesn’t detract from the pain because no one is immune to the pain, but it did mean I didn’t give up.’
Earlier this month, Louise’s fiancé Ryan revealed that she was on suicide watch after she nearly died while giving birth to their son Leo.
The personal trainer opened up about the toll Louise’s struggles took on him, saying the couple had daily visits from carers for the first 10 months of Leo’s life.
Speaking on his friend and former MIC co-star Joshua Patterson’s Exercising The Demons podcast, Ryan said: ‘The first 10 months of Leo’s life, and when I say it was bad, I don’t think it could have been much worse at home in terms of the environment we had to just exist in.
‘The physical stuff from three major operations is one thing but what it did to Louise’s mental state, it just completely unhinged her as a person.
‘We had daily visits from care visitors but they were also on suicide watch because she was saying things like, “I just cannot get through this and I don’t even want to.”
‘She couldn’t even really barely look at Leo, let alone hold Leo. So, for 10 months I had to ensure the house filled with medical staff of different professions.’
Ryan added that he had to assume the role of mother to Leo while Louise was unable to care for him.
Earlier this month , Louise’s fiancé Ryan revealed that she was on suicide watch after she nearly died while giving birth to their son Leo
The personal trainer opened up about the toll Louise’s struggles took on him, saying the couple had daily visits from carers for the first 10 months of Leo’s life
Ryan said: ‘The physical stuff from three major operations is one thing but what it did to Louise’s mental state, it just completely unhinged her as a person’
He said: ‘Leo, I was fighting against biology a little bit because Leo during that time as any newborn is kind of yearning for their mummy and I had to fill that role and it’s incredibly difficult.
‘When I got to the end of that 10 months I was in such a bad state. I’d pushed myself to such an extent that I’d become unhelpful to people around me. I was so deeply unhappy and very short on energy and patience.
‘I had a lot of resentment as well and that started to trickle in. I started to feel resentment to Louise. I don’t want to say Leo, but just the version of becoming a father that I had. I’d really struggle with it.’
Taking to his Instagram after the release of the podcast, Ryan thanked people for their ‘unbelievably kind’ messages.
