ONE of the stars of Married At First Sight has revealed her newborn daughter nearly died.
This was before doctors brought her daughter ‘back to life’ in a traumatic birth.
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Jess O’Connor – previously known as Jess Potter on the show – rose to fame on the seventh series of the hit social experiment in 2022.
On MAFS UK, she was paired with Pjay Finch from Birmingham, but they separated early when she discovered his job as an exotic dancer.
After the 32-year-old star welcomed her daughter, Mia Jane, with fiancé TJ O’Reilly after undergoing four rounds of IVF.
The dental nurse was previously open about three miscarriages and a failed adoption.
Although she did get pregnant, the birth of her first child was anything but straightforward.
The former Channel 4 reality star has opened up on the traumatic birth after a 12 hour labour and five days in the hospital.
She posted a snap of herself holding her newborn baby in tears onto her Instagram grid page as she accompanied the picture with an emotional essay.
Jess wrote: “This is a difficult one. But, I said I was sharing my whole journey, the good and the bad.
“This was 15 minutes after Mia was born, when they had brought her back to life and I finally got to hold her.
“When Mia was born she wasn’t breathing, and she also had the cord around her neck (I didn’t see as she was taken swiftly) Once I had birthed her, the midwife’s pressed an emergency button and about 10 doctors come running in and whisked her away.
She continued: “She had deflated lungs and wasn’t breathing. It took 15minutes to bring her back.
“I couldn’t see what was happening, mum did and said it was very vigorous as they had to manually inflate them again and bring her back.
“I was screaming at the doctors, they were ignoring me, for obvious reasons- Mia was more important.
“Tom had frozen and was just staring at me and holding me saying that everything will be alright.”
Mafs couples that have stood the test of time
Loved-up Tayah Victoria and Adam Aveling of series six fame had the first Mafs baby.
The pair couldn’t keep their hands off each other on the programme and quickly found their feet in the outside world, moving into Adam’s Doncaster home.
Just 18 months after meeting, the couple welcomed their daughter Beau.
Season five couple Michelle Walder and Owen Jenkins also managed to make their marriage work away from the cameras and had their first child in December.
Teacher Michelle, 29, has no regrets about taking part in the experiment. She told us: “I just feel very lucky and thankful that it has worked out – and excited for everything to come.”
Michelle and Owen were both sick of dating apps when they applied in 2019.
Owen recalled: “I had been out for some drinks with a friend after work.
“While he was out for a cigarette I was scrolling on Instagram waiting for him to come back in.
“The MAFS advert was the last thing I saw, and I joked, ‘Wouldn’t it be funny if I signed up?’
“A few beers later when I was back at home I sent in the application, and the rest is history.”
Another couple to make Mafs UK history is Zoe Clifton and Jenna Robinson.
Despite a slight rocky start, where they clashed over Jenna’s vegan lifestyle, the show’s first same sex pairing are still going strong.
They even have a successful podcast together called Life With a Pod.
Jenna shed light on being involved in the show earlier this year when she told us: “We’re not legally married, and I never felt like we were. I definitely feel the process makes you take the relationship a lot more seriously and having the help of the experts… if you can survive that process it sets a firm foundation for a long-lasting relationship.”
The star admitted that the 15 minutes that the doctors spent working to save her child was the ‘worst moment ‘ of her entire life.
Jess added: “Mum was with Mia and the doctors. It was the WORST moment of my life.
“I am crying whilst writing this…but the second I heard my baby cry and they bought her back to me, was the single best moment in my life.
“I am so grateful to the NHS midwife’s and Drs for saving my Mia,” along with three love heart emojis.
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