Three years on from the traumatic birth where she almost died, Louise Thompson is continuing to bravely document her harrowing health struggles.
This week, the former Made in Chelsea star has opened up about what sex is like after a stoma bag procedure. She was fitted with a stoma bag - which she refers to as 'Winnie' - back in April, six years after she was diagnosed with the chronic bowel condition ulcerative colitis. The procedure includes removing part of the colon and creating a surgical opening in the abdomen for waste to exit.
Writing in her new weekly column for You, Louise, 34, opened up about how the procedure impacted her sex life with her fiancé Ryan Libbey. She explained that, after the operation, sex was ‘wasn’t even on the agenda,’ adding ‘I hadn’t had sex since back in November, so it had been a full five months – and I laughed off the question. But then, straight after dinner, I rushed home and bought myself a slinky black bodysuit.’
She added: ‘My reasoning went like this: if other people thought that I looked well enough to be having sex (and this, I noticed, made me feel quite good) then maybe I should be, well, having sex. The trouble was that Ryan hadn’t seen much of Winnie [the stoma]. I was still really shy about showing it to him; I didn’t let him see it at all for the first six weeks after surgery. Also, let’s face it, if you’re thinking about how to put the spark back into your relationship, then confronting him with a bag of poo might not be the answer.’
Louise's rollercoaster of health issues started after she almost died during an emergency c-section for her son, Leo, in November 2021. Alongside ulcerative colitis, she suffers from Lupus - an autoimmune disease that occurs when your body's immune system attacks your own tissues and organs, PTSD and postnatal anxiety. Last week, Ryan explained how this led to Louise being on ‘suicide watch’ for the first few months of Leo’s life after she fell into a deep depression.
But the couple have taken active steps to repair their relationship – including in the bedroom. In her You Magazine column, Louise wrote ‘I’d probably advise emptying the bag first but other than that stomas don’t flail – they are tightly stuck to your body, adding ‘At one point, I did hear Winnie [the nickname for her stoma] sort of crackling but I don’t think Ryan noticed. I did, however, make a mental note to put on some mood music the next time.’
This comes after Louise revealed on Instagram that her stoma bag had leaked on a flight to Mallorca with her family. Referencing her son, Leo, she said: ‘‘I can confirm that I had a leak in the lift because the whole thing had blown up, burst through the seal and onto my skin… but it hadn’t crept out any further. YET. I think we were moments away from a Leo-style explosion.’
It's estimated that around 1 in 500 people in the UK have undergone stoma surgery. The UK Crohn’s & Colitis UK Charity reports at least 1 in every 227 people in the UK are diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, with it most commonly affecting those aged between 15 and 25.
Louise has earned praise online for speaking so candidly about her health issues, and helping to end the shame around stoma bags. One user wrote on X 'Good on Louise Thompson for raising awareness of stoma bags and reducing the stigma.' Another wrote 'Also, Louise Thompson is a total inspiration. She will do so much good helping people come to terms with having a stoma and tackling preconceptions about them. She also helps those of us still getting used to them to feel like we're not alone and that cool people have them too.'
This isn't the first time Louise has opened up about how childbirth changed her relationship with Ryan. In a TikTok last year, she detailed how 'the demands of parenthood' had put a strain on the couple's 'emotional and physical resource.'
'We noticed a loss of intimacy as we prioritised our individual and our child's needs. Romantic and personal time dwindled, making it challenging to maintain the emotional connection that initially brought us together,' she said. 'Successful parenting requires a super strong foundation in the relationship to prevent these challenges from causing a relationship to fall apart. We have learnt "the hard way" to communicate openly, to seek support and to prioritise 'me and you' time and date nights, even amidst the chaos of parenthood.'