Actress Kelsey Parker has welcomed a baby girl named River with her partner Will Lindsay, four years after the death of her husband Tom Parker.
The 35-year-old revealed the news on Instagram on Sunday, sharing a photograph of the newborn's arm alongside a message welcoming her daughter to the world.
"Welcome to the world, River," Parker wrote in the caption. "Our little bit of hope."
Parker is already mother to daughter Aurelia, six, and son Bodhi, four, from her marriage to late singer Tom Parker. She began dating Lindsay, a tree surgeon, in September 2024.
The birth of baby River comes one year after Parker and Lindsay suffered a devastating loss when their son, Phoenix, was stillborn at 39 weeks in June 2025.
Family tragedy and new beginnings
Parker announced her pregnancy in May, describing the baby girl as a gift sent from above by her late husband and her late son.
She referred to the child as a "rainbow baby", a term used to describe a healthy baby born after a family has experienced pregnancy loss, stillbirth, or infant death.
Tom Parker was a member of the British boy band The Wanted, known for hit songs including All Time Low and Glad You Came. He died from an inoperable brain tumour in March 2022 at the age of 33.
Following her husband's death, Parker spoke about the support she received from her extended family when she began dating again.
She revealed that Tom's parents, Noreen and Nigel Parker, gave their full support to her relationship with Lindsay.
"I've got such an amazing village and even with Tom's parents Noreen and Nigel, they have supported me with whatever I've decided to do and they understand how hard it is," Parker said.
Navigating grief and family life
Despite building a new life with Lindsay, Parker emphasised that her late husband remains a central presence in their home.
"For us at home, Tom is so alive in our house and we speak to him everyday," she said. "For my children, they are still babies and they are still processing it everyday so these conversations are never going to go away and we are still dealing with the conversation."
Parker explained that meeting Lindsay helped her overcome the deep loneliness she experienced following her widowhood.
"It's about finding happiness and with friends and family there is only so much they can do and it's lovely to have someone to offload to," she said. "I was lonely and I'm 34 now, I was so lonely and just wanted someone and now I've met someone."
Reflecting on her grieving process, Parker noted that there is no fixed timeline for moving forward after loss.
"What I've learnt is there is no wrong or right way to grieve and we all talk about when is it the right time to move on and I just don't think there is a right time," she said. "I never thought at the age of 32 with two young children that I would have been widowed."
Coping with loss and daily routines
Parker spoke about how her elder children, Aurelia and Bodhi, helped her cope with the grief of losing baby Phoenix in June 2025.
"My kids are my everything, they have got me through the darkest of times," she said. "I can't believe I'm back here three and a half years later dealing with such a loss and a devastation, but me and Will have the kids and they have to have normality, they have to go to school."
She explained that maintaining a daily routine was essential for her family's healing, leading her to return to the school run immediately after the tragedy.
"I did do the school run and for me, I think you have to rip the plaster off at some point, and if I'd left it until after the summer holidays and I came back and saw the parents, people don't know what to say," Parker said.
"We are so awful about talking about grief, loss and death and us as a family, we're not. So, I did get up and do the school run, and I faced everyone."
Responding to online criticism
Earlier this month, Parker was forced to respond to criticism from an online troll who told her to stop speaking about her late husband.
The comment came after Parker posted an emotional tribute on Instagram to mark what would have been Tom Parker's 37th birthday.
A social media user sent her a message telling her to stop thinking about her late husband, writing: "Yes I am going to sound like a c*** but you need to stop thinking about your ex-husband who has passed away. You have moved on. You are in a new relationship. Think of how this new guy is feeling hearing how much you care about your ex-husband?"
The message continued: "That is such a kick in the teeth to the new guy, forget about that, he is your future and this new baby, stop living in the past."
Parker re-shared the message publicly and firmly rejected the user's premise.
"Tom wasn't my ex-husband. He was my husband, and he died. There is a huge difference," Parker replied. "Loving someone who has died doesn't stop because you're in a new relationship. Grief isn't something you 'move on' from or switch off. You learn to carry it alongside the life you continue to build."
She noted that Lindsay completely understands her feelings, having lost his own father at a young age.
"Will understands that, just as he still loves and remembers his own dad who died when he was 21," Parker said. "I would never expect him to stop talking about his dad, and he would never expect me to stop talking about Tom."
Parker concluded: "My past, my present and my future can all exist together. They're not mutually exclusive."
