Rivals star Emily Atack reveals secret health battle behind weight loss after giving birth

RIVALS star Emily Atack has revealed a secret health battle that led to her losing weight after giving birth to her first child.

The 36-year-old welcomed her baby boy Barney with fiance Dr. Alistair Garner in June 2024 but was seriously ill straight afterwards with sepsis.

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She told Grazia: “I was trolled for being enormous when I was pregnant and I’m now trolled for having lost weight.

“My body holds all my trauma as well as my happiness and joy. I went through a very difficult pregnancy.

“I was very ill after the birth. I had sepsis, I couldn’t leave the house for weeks. It was awful.”

Her illness led to her losing weight, but fans have since accused her of turning to weight loss jabs for to achieve her slimmer frame.

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The actress expressed: “I’m just asking for people for a little bit of patience and understanding at such a complex thing.

“Women’s bodies change all the time. I am so done with defending it.”

According to the NHS, sepsis is a serious reaction to to an infection that can be life threatening and requires urgent treatment in hospital.

Common symptoms of sepsis in adults includes slurred speech, uncontrollable shivering, muscle pain, high or low temperature and difficulty breathing.

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Emily and Alistair welcomed Barney into the world in 2024 as she took to Instagram to share the special news.

She penned: “We have a beautiful son. Barney James Garner. All my dreams have come true.”

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The Inbetweeners star also shared a sweet black and white snap of Emily with Alistair and their new arrival lying on Emilys chest.

She previously opened up on the pressure to lose weight after giving birth to her son, but refused to rush back into the gym.

Theres something quite liberating about having a baby. Your body goes through so much and you genuinely look at your body as a completely different vessel, she told Jamie Laing on his Great Company podcast in November 2024.

Being pregnant and being desexualised, looking at your body, you create a human inside you, then you give birth to your child which by the way is mental you get home and the first thing people say to you is, when are you going to get back in the gym?

She added later: Wheres the congratulations for being a mother?

Instead its when are you going to get the baby weight off Im not back at the gym at the minute,

Ive actually put on more weight since giving birth. Im just enjoying this bit.

Emily and Alistair are all set to tie the knot this September after getting engaged in July last year.