Charlotte Crosby has defended her parenting choices after sharing a photograph of her young daughters inside a time-out cage that sparked backlash.
The former Geordie Shore star, 36, posted an image of Alba-Jean, three, and Pixi, 19 months, accompanied by a caption stating she had purchased the enclosure for disciplinary time-outs. She later clarified to her social media followers that the post was a joke and the mesh structure was actually brought into the house to store her eldest daughter's teddy bear collection.
Addressing a flood of direct messages from concerned social media users, Crosby explained that she and her daughters had assembled the storage unit together at home. She emphasised that her family does not use time-outs for discipline and shared that she had been inspired to purchase the organizer after seeing it featured online.
"Guys my DMs. That is obv not a child cage and we obvs don’t even do time outs!" Crosby wrote in her clarifying statement. "It is however a cage lmao but for teddys! How b****y cute. I was totally influenced and I can’t even remember now by who! But it’s so cute and me and the girls built it all ourselves it was so easy I’ll link."
Clarification over child time-out post
The social media exchange comes as Crosby spoke publicly about her hopes of having a third child following a devastating silent miscarriage. Crosby rose to fame as an original cast member on MTV's hit reality series Geordie Shore, which launched in 2011 and followed a group of housemates in Newcastle upon Tyne, before winning Celebrity Big Brother in 2013.
Appearing live on ITV's flagship daytime magazine show This Morning alongside television presenters Ben Shephard, 51, and Cat Deeley, 49, Crosby recounted the moment she and her fiancé, Manchester businessman Jake Ankers, were informed that she had likely miscarried during an eight-week pregnancy scan.
Crosby revealed she first discovered she was pregnant with her third child on March 3. Having previously experienced two uncomplicated pregnancies with Alba-Jean and Pixi, she initially assumed her third pregnancy would proceed smoothly without complications.
Struggling to hold back tears during her interview on the ITV morning broadcast, Crosby covered her face with her hands as her voice wavered on air. "I feel a bit emotional, but let's just keep going, I'll try and get through," she told the show hosts.
Recalling the moment she discovered the positive pregnancy test result, Crosby explained: "We weren't trying, it just happened, and obviously I got very scared when I saw the positive sign, I didn't sleep. But all the worries melted away and we started to get really, really excited, and we were like, 'We'll manage, it's going to be another beautiful person to love and it's going to be amazing.'"
Crosby described how early physical indicators mirrored her previous healthy pregnancies. "[The pregnancy] felt completely normal, that's the craziest thing, I had some morning sickness and all of the hormones were there, it was just so normal, I never would have known any different," she said.
Private scan and silent miscarriage diagnosis
Uncertainty began when Crosby and Ankers decided to book an appointment for a private scan at six weeks. Crosby recalled an immediate and noticeable shift in atmosphere inside the ultrasound examination room.
"I went for my first scan at six weeks and basically it was just a different atmosphere," Crosby explained. "I've obviously been this twice before, so you kind of know what to expect when you sit down. They didn't switch the screens on for you to see straight away and the room was very quiet, and I just instantly thought, 'Oh, I feel like there's something wrong.'"
Sonographers informed the couple that they were unable to see the expected fetal development on the monitor. Medical staff offered reassurance that such findings are relatively common early in pregnancy, noting that Crosby may have arrived earlier than anticipated due to mixed-up dates.
The medical team instructed the couple to return for a follow-up scan two weeks later. Crosby described the fortnight interval as an agonizing wait that felt as though time was moving in slow motion.
"After that initial scan, I knew something was wrong, whereas my partner was being really positive saying 'it's going to be fine, honestly', but I kind of knew in my heart that there was going to be something wrong here," Crosby said.
When Crosby and Ankers returned two weeks later for the eight-week appointment, doctors confirmed that it was not an active pregnancy and that she had suffered a silent miscarriage. A silent miscarriage, also known as a missed miscarriage, occurs when a fetus stops developing but the body displays no typical symptoms of pregnancy loss, such as heavy abdominal cramping or vaginal bleeding.
Medical treatment options and future plans
Breaking down in tears again during the television interview, Crosby explained that doctors offered her a two-week window to monitor whether her body would clear the pregnancy naturally. Medical staff explained that if a natural miscarriage did not occur, she would be offered a dilation and curettage procedure, commonly known as a D&C, which is a minor surgical operation to remove tissue from the uterus.
Despite the emotional ordeal, Crosby expressed her determination to expand her family with Ankers. The couple confirmed they intend to try to conceive another child over the summer months, ahead of their planned wedding ceremony in Marrakesh, Morocco, next year.
