Florence Welch has opened up about how an ectopic pregnancy left her with internal bleeding while she performed on stage in front of thousands.
In a raw and emotional interview, the 39-year-old revealed how she had conceived immediately with her on-again-off-again boyfriend, a British guitarist in an indie band whom she prefers not to name, in 2023.
But what was meant to be a wonderful experience soon turned into a devastating medical emergency, one which will nearly cost Welch her life.
“It was my first experience of even trying to get pregnant, and I thought, ‘There’s no way, because I’m ancient,'” she told The Guardian.
Welch was made aware of the risks of the pregnancy by her doctor, who told her that should a miscarriage occur in the early stages is was not generally onsidered dangerous.
This was not the case for her.
Welch first felt pain and bleeding before taking the stage at the Boardmasters Festival in Cornwall in 2023.
Her doctor had told her to get a scan when she was back home in London, just in case the pregnancy was ectopic.
But Welsh simply downed an ibuprofen, donned her signature white lace dress, and walked out on stage.
READ MORE: Benny Blanco and Selena Gomez share intimate wedding day snaps
READ MORE: Tom Holland reappears after head injury while filming
READ MORE: Dolly Parton forced to postpone Vegas shows due to health
During her performance, she said she ”felt this thing take over, the thing that’s always there, the safe space of performance,” which convinced her that she was feeling OK.
By the time she was back home, she considered forgoing the scan.
“I thought, ‘I’ve done this show, I’m fine, I can cope,'” she recalled, “But my doctor’s insistence that I come in saved my life.”
It turned out that she “had a Coke can’s worth of blood in my abdomen,” and had to undergo immediate emergency surgery to remove her fallopian tube, which had ruptured.
For a daily dose of 9honey, subscribe to our newsletter here.
She noted: “The closest I came to making life was the closest I came to death.”
According to HealthDirect, an ectopic pregnancy occurs “when a fertilised egg does not implant in your uterus (womb). Instead, the pregnancy grows in the wrong place, usually in one of your fallopian tubes.”
There is no way for an ectopic pregnancy to survive, with the pregnancy ending in a miscarriage or abortion.
If it occurs in the fallopian tube, it can cause the tube to tear or burst, causing serious internal bleeding that can become life-threatening.
When she got home from the hospital, she recalls being in mourning so deep she began “howling”, like something out of a “wounded animal”.
Ten days after the surgery, she was back on stage.
She later had to cancel show dates, telling fans about the life-saving surgery but not telling them the cause of it.
Since the incident, she says she feels “slightly more obsessive and fragile and wounded than I did before,” though it only made her tougher in her work ethic, not feeling supported by the industry she had given so much to.
The Red Nose Grief and Loss Support Line is available 24/7 for anyone affected by the loss of a pregnancy, stillbirth or death of a baby or child on 1300 308 307.
FOLLOW US ON WHATSAPP HERE: Stay across all the latest in celebrity, lifestyle and opinion via our WhatsApp channel. No comments, no algorithm and nobody can see your private details.
