Pregnant Ashley James says baby joy helped her grief over Caroline Flack’s death

Pregnant Ashley James revealed her unborn baby has helped her with her grief over Caroline Flack’s death.

Hearts all over shattered when the former Love Island host took her own life aged 40 at her north London flat in February earlier this year.

Her close friend and DJ, 33, said her preparation for motherhood has given her a “positive focus” after she lost two pals including well-loved celebrity Caroline.

Pregnancy has also helped her through the difficult times with the coronavirus pandemic but she highlighted lockdown has had some benefits too while she prepares to give welcome her first baby in January with her beau Tom Andrews.

Having joined Evian’s Stay Hydrated campaign, Ashley lifted the lid on why it’s the right time for her to have a baby as she focuses on the positives and her health in lockdown.

She told Mirror Online: “It’s just feels like it [pregnancy] happened at the right time. [I] Lost two friends at the end of last year, beginning of this year. Obviously Caroline [Flack] being one of them.

“Going through grief, COVID, death is all around us… It felt like the right time…

“[Pregnancy] is definitely something very positive to focus on this year. Especially when there is so much negativity and uncertainty for the first half of the year.

“And losing friends as well. Just seems so normal now, another extension of all the weird changes that have happened, you have to adapt to.”

Lockdown has helped the DJ slow down and listen to her body more – including staying hydrated and focusing on her health during her pregnancy.

Ashley expressed she’s had to be “extra careful” with staying hydrated – something many of us forget when we’re busy – after she suffered with sepsis in 2018.

Also, the pregnant star was able to keep her pregnancy a secret until she was ready to tell everyone – rather than when she was showing.

She said: “Had it [pregnancy] happened before COVID, I wouldn’t have had time to listen to my body as much. I’d have been out at events, even with TV going into studios instead of doing it online and you know even getting to tell people when I was showing rather than when I was ready to.

“Loads of positives from lockdown and pregnancy, especially during the first trimester I was so tired all of the time. Even in normal life, I’m staying hydrated, focusing much more on being healthy including drinking water. 

“With pregnancy, there’s a risk around kidneys and UTIs. A lot of women experience problems. I had sepsis in 2018. I’ve had to be extra careful. It’s why I’m really happy to be part of the Stay Hydrated campaign with Evian. The importance of drinking water is something a lot of us forget when we’re busy. It’s been really nice to have pregnancy in lockdown.”

Feeling incredibly lucky, Ashley shared her delight over Tommy being able to come in to the baby scans with her amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The mum-to-be expressed her sympathies to women not being allowed to have their partners with them, depending on where their local hospital is.

Ashley said it was “really devastating” some pregnant women haven’t been allowed to have their partners with them during scans and labour while new restrictions still allow people to go to the pub, get on a train or go to the office.

She elaborated: “Tommy has been able to come into the scans I’ve had. Hospitals are all quite different. Some people still can’t. No guarantee he will be able to come to the next one.

“At the moment, he has to wait outside hospital as soon as I’m called in, he has to come in, both have our masks on. I feel lucky because for the partners, they can feel the kicks externally but not experiencing what we’re experiencing as our bodies evolve to grow human life.

“I hope all hospitals change those rules. It does feel very unfair we can go to the pub, even with the new restrictions. We’re allowed to do a lot of things – go back into offices, go on the tubes and go on the trains but not have someone from your household allowed into labour and scans. It’s really devastating. Selfishly, I don’t want to go through labour alone.”

Fate dealt its hand for Ashley and Tom as the former work friends found love when they reconnected 10 years later.

They live very happily together with their toy poodle.

Having been single for six years and fiercely independent, of course the couple have a “very equal relationship”.

She added: “I feel lucky. Tom has been great, he gets me water every night before bed, he’s done the cooking for the last few nights. He’s really supportive. I wouldn’t have been with him if he’d have been any other way.”