Former Made in Chelsea star Louise Thompson is two years clear of a near death experience. During the birth of her two-year-old son, Leo, she experienced life-threatening complications which resulted in complex PTSD and post-natal anxiety.
For that reason, she can't remember the first five months of her son's life. Louise Thompson's recovery has not been linear, but she has been brave enough to document it on social media in the hope of educating her followers and offering support to anyone going through a similar experience.
Her experience of childbirth and parenthood is not something that she could have ever predicted or planned for, but it has completely changed the course of her life. Subsequently, then, it's had a huge impact on her relationship with fiancé Ryan Libbey.
The pair first got together in 2016, after meeting at the gym where Ryan worked as a personal trainer, and later appeared on Made in Chelsea together. In August 2018, they got engaged and in November 2021, they welcomed their son Leo Hunter Libbey.
In the aftermath of Leo's birth and Louise's recovery, their relationship has understandably suffered. Louise even previously admitted that she struggled to speak to Ryan in the six months that followed the birth because they were 'mutually paralysed' by the 'medical events' and were 'still living in the terror'.
And now, two years after Leo was born, Louise has shared a candid TikTok video explaining that the couple are still struggling with intimacy and communication. She wrote, 'A relationship can face challenges when a couple has children. This is for many reasons. The demands of parenthood can lead to exhaustion and can affect the amount of quality time spent together.'
She continued, 'Sleepless nights, changing routines and constant care giving put a strain on our emotional and physical resource leaving little energy for one another. On top of that, different parenting styles create conflict. Ryan and I have varying expectations when it comes to disciplining, child-rearing and household responsibilities, sometimes leading to disagreements and tension.
'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.
'Financial stress has become a source of tension... The cost of raising children, from nappies to education, strains a family's budget and inevitably increase financial worries. We found that unaddressed emotional issues resurfaced. Parenthood can amplify preexisting relationship problems as stress highlights existing flaws and differences in communication.'
The former MIC star then concluded, '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.'
Her frank and candid TikTok post – in which the above is divided into captions and posted over various videos of Louise and Ryan in their home in West London – has received several comments from fans and strangers alike. With some saying 'this is the most authentic relationship video I've seen on here, maybe ever', others commenting that it 'makes them scared', and some joking 'I feel like it'd all be a bit easier in that house'.
Whoever the video does or doesn't help, Louise has successfully carved out a new role for herself as a health and parenting influencer on social media. She uses her platform as an informative and honest progress account, and it's clear that her videos and captions resonate with a lot of people. What's clear is that she is still struggling with her recovery and her relationship a great deal, and fans should wish her, Ryan and Leo well.