Rebecca Adlington revealed that she’s been diagnosed with a life-changing disease in an update on Wednesday.
The Olympic swimmer, 36, made a plea to UK Government in a short clip in which she explained she has coeliac disease.
In the video shared to Coeliac UK’s Instagram, she said: ‘Hello everyone. As someone newly diagnosed with coeliac disease.
‘I have definitely quickly learnt how vital gluten-free prescriptions are for managing this condition.
‘But in some areas, these prescriptions are totally being cut. Coeliac UK is handing a petition to Number 10 to make sure we’re heard, so please sign and share the petition today.’
Coeliac disease is an extremely common autoimmune condition, which affects about one in 100 people.
It happens when the body’s immune system mistakes substances found in gluten – found in wheat, barley and rye – as a threat and attacks it.
Rebecca Adlington revealed that she’s been diagnosed with a life-changing disease in an update on Wednesday
The Olympic swimmer, 36, made a plea to UK Government in a short clip in which she explained she has coeliac disease
But this simultaneously sees the body attack its own tissues, which can damage the lining of the gut.
This autoimmune reaction typically causes symptoms like stomach pain, diarrhoea, excessive wind, nausea, cramping, bloating, headaches and weight loss. However, it also leads to difficulties digesting food, which can result in anaemia and tiredness.
In some cases, sufferers may develop neurological problems such as loss of balance and slurred speech.
No cure exists for coeliac disease. Scientists don’t even fully understand why people develop the illness.
Instead, sufferers are recommended to completely eradicate gluten, which can be found in bread, biscuits and even ketchup.
Some experts say coeliac disease is a spectrum disorder, in that people have varied symptoms both in type and severity.
In the caption Coeliac UK revealed they had closed their petition after reaching 22,826 signatures.
They added: ‘On Wednesday 19 March, we delivered the petition directly to 10 Downing Street, presenting our call for action to the UK Government.
In the video shared to Coeliac UK’s Instagram, she said: ‘As someone newly diagnosed with coeliac disease. I have quickly learnt how vital gluten-free prescriptions are’
Coeliac disease is an autoimmune condition which means your body decides that healthy cells are foreign and so it sends antibodies out to ‘protect’ your body
‘The petition, supported by individuals from across the UK, highlighted the importance of protecting access to gluten free prescriptions for people with coeliac disease, particular those most in need.
‘Among those taking part in the hand-in were supporters with first hand experience of seeing support withdrawn in their areas.’
‘Kate Powell, who has two daughters with coeliac disease is from Hampshire & Isle of Wight which removed provision in early 2024 whilst volunteer Ceira Reading saw provision taken away by her local area of Leicestershire earlier this year. ‘
They continued: ’We were proud to be joined on the famous steps of 10 Downing Street by supportive politicians, including Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville, Tom Rutland MP, Sharon Hodgson MP, and Amanda Hack MP, who stood with us in calling for equal access to gluten free prescriptions.’
The post concluded: ‘We would like to extend a huge thank you to everyone who signed the petition, helping us push this crucial cause forward, and to all those who supported our campaign, including the brilliant Rebecca Adlington, for her incredible backing.’
Rebecca recently revealed she ‘fell out of love’ with her body as she struggled to cope with the ‘heartbreak’ of two miscarriages.
The former Olympic swimmer lost a child at 12 weeks in August 2022.
A year later, she miscarried daughter, Harper, at 20 weeks and had to undergo an induced labour and stillbirth.
Rebecca also admitted she fell into a ‘rut’ during the ‘dark’ period as she took a step back from fitness.
The athlete told OK! Magazine: ‘I went through a period about two years of not going to the gym at all.
‘I’d had my miscarriage and I went through this phase where I fell out of love with my body, I was just like “Ugh”.’
She credited going to counselling with husband Andy Parsons with helping her heal and revealed she now attends gym classes and Pilates to keep fit and healthy as well as going swimming to help with her mental health.
Rebecca, who shares daughter Summer, nine, with ex-husband Harry Needs and three-year-old son Albie with her husband Andy Parsons, said: ‘I swim on a Sunday but I don’t really count that as exercise.
‘I feel like Sunday’s swim is more for my mental health than anything else.
‘I don’t have my phone attached to me, I don’t go fast or anything like that.
‘I literally use it as a time to let my mind wander and switch off, nobody is saying “Mummy” or calling me or asking me to do anything.’
Rebecca went on to credit couples therapy for helping them accept the devastating tragedy and work through the ‘dark cloud’ of their grief after attending for several months.
In September, the athlete shared some of the touching ways her family has paid tribute to Harper.
‘We’ve got a cherry blossom tree, we’ve got her little handprints on the wall in the living room with the family, Albie and Summer they always go “Harper’s my sister,”‘ she said on Loose Women.
‘Even on holiday last week there was a little chapel where we were in Greece and they lit a candle for Harper.
Rebecca recently revealed she ‘fell out of love’ with her body as she struggled to cope with the ‘heartbreak’ of two miscarriages (pictured with with husband Andy Parsons, their son Albie, three, and her daughter Summer, nine, who she shares with ex Harry Needs)
‘She’s part of our family, she will always be part of our family, and we’re able to discuss her now in a way that we’re not in floods of tears.’
Rebecca also revealed she didn’t suffer any symptoms or notice any signs of her miscarriage until she was told in her 20-week scan.
She told the panellists: ‘There were absolutely no symptoms I had no signs of it, we only found out by going to the 20-week scan.’
She then revealed that she received no explanation at all as to why she suffered a miscarriage.
She said: ‘It was something that was totally unknown, we had all the post mortem, all the tests that I had done after. They still can’t tell us why it happened.’
Andy and Rebecca tied the knot in August 2021 with a Cheshire ceremony, five months after welcoming their son Albie.
The pair met on dating app Bumble in 2018, with the swimmer gushing after their wedding: ‘It worked out perfectly for us. We couldn’t be happier.’
The couple started dating two years after she split from her ex-husband Harry, and she previously admitted she was nervous about finding love again, but they quickly fell in love and facilities manager Andy moved from Liverpool to live with Rebecca in Manchester in 2019.
In October, Rebecca marked one year since losing daughter Harper with a poem written by Andrew.
The athlete said that while her family talk about the little one ‘every single day’ she had ‘battled’ with how to best honour the heartbreaking anniversary.
Rebecca shared photos of a tree buried in Harper’s honour as well as a candle which read: ‘Harper, always in our hearts you are our shining star and guiding angel’.
The heartbreaking poem read: ‘Harper Parsons I’d dreamt about you for a long, long time, My own little girl and one to call mine, You’d have my blue eyes and your mum’s blonde hair, And for sure you’d be sporty with so much flare, Full of your mum’s drive and my humour, Or maybe you would be our late bloomer’.
‘Then one day in October it all changed, And we had to rethink what we thought was arranged, Being told that our Angel had fallen asleep, It was devastating news and one that scarred so deep’.
It continued: ‘Thoughts of holding your hand on walks in the rain, Never did I think these dreams would bring so much pain, I know I’ll never get to know you or be your dad, But not a day goes by without that making me sad’.
‘The plans we made to make our family a five, Never with any doubt that you wouldn’t thrive, I’m sorry we weren’t ever able to make you smile, I’m sorry you’ve been on your own all this while, Never being able to watch you grow, And never seeing your infectious smile make a room glow, Never being able to see your first dance, Because in all honesty you were never given a chance.
‘I never got to hear your beautiful voice, I’d swap with you in a heartbeat if given the choice, You’ve made my love grow deeper than I possibly knew, How can something so small make me see things in a better view’.
‘Our little miracle after so much pain, Now it feels like there is just constant rain, The best little sister that there could possibly be, But now it’s time that we must set you free, Up into heaven you surely must be,’
‘Being cared for by loved ones we long to see, Hopefully you are all dancing with so much glee, Having a good old party is a guarantee. Knowing you are not alone fills my heart with love, Whenever I look up to the sky l’ll look out for your dove, You are a part of me and I’m a part of you,’
‘The love we had for you, if only you knew, It’s been hard to keep it together but I know I must be strong, Strong for you and strong for us even though it all feels so wrong, Nobody will ever take your place, We’ll meet again one day and have an endless embrace, I will never forget you or your beautiful name, Harper, you will always hold my flame’.
Rebecca later captioned the post: ‘Happy birthday to our sleeping angel. We have thought about our baby girl every single day. Harper is a part of our family and part of our lives always’.
‘We speak about her all the time and Summer & Albie do too. We didn’t get to have memories with her but we little things throughout our home to have her love with us forever’.
She continued: ‘I’ve battled with what we should do today as a family. How we honour her, how we have a day full of love, how we mark this anniversary. The truth is there is no right or wrong’.
The former competitive swimmer announced she lost her daughter Harper in a devastating late miscarriage in October 2023 – after she lost another child at 12 weeks in 2022
‘Thank you to everyone for the messages. I know it’s not easy to talk about but people don’t realise how a simple 3 words like ‘thinking of you’ means the world. If anyone is reading this that knows someone going through something, I would encourage those 3 words’.
Following her miscarriage, Rebecca shared in an interview with the Sunday Times that she hated her body, and she ‘couldn’t help blaming myself’ after finding out her baby had died in the womb at the 20-week scan, before then having to give birth by induced labour.
Speaking about the traumatic incident, she said: ‘I couldn’t help blaming myself. You analyse everything, but I’d done everything by the book — sleeping on my left side, not lying on my back, not eating this and that, no alcohol — and then this still happened.
‘It was very hard for me to accept. I’m very logical so I wanted to find out why this had happened, but the post-mortem [in May] showed there was no reason; sometimes things just happen. I have to come to terms with that somehow and stop obsessing about it.’
If you have been affected by this story, you can seek advice at www.miscarriageassociation.org.uk or by calling 01924 200 799.
