Actress Brooke Kinsella, 37, recalled the day she and husband Simon Boardley, 42, found out they were expecting their little bundle of joy Elsie, who is now six-weeks-old, and believed her late brother Ben might have sent her a sign after he passed away back in 2008. And even though he isn’t able to watch his niece grow up, Brooke explained she will “treasure” the test and its connection to her brother forever.
Ben was only 16 when he was tragically stabbed to death in an unprovoked attack in London, which prompted Brooke to campaign against knife-crime.
She earned a an MBE for her work in the field, and appeared in an episode of the BBC One series Defenders UK to talk about the murder of her brother.
Despite the sadness following his death, Brooke revealed how delighted she was when he showed her a sign on the day she found out she was pregnant.
“I was at my mum’s house when we found out and the most incredible thing happened,” she recalled.
“All pregnancy tests have codes on them and when I opened my one I saw that the first three letters of the code were BEN. I got complete goosebumps all over and had this huge smile on my face.”
Brooke revealed she’s kept the pregnancy test and will “treasure” it forever after believing her Ben had something to do with it.
“It gave me such a good feeling about it all. Usually you have to wait a couple of minutes for the result, but in this instance it went positive straight away,” she explained.
“I just remember saying, “’Thank you, Ben.’
“Obviously I love Elsie more than anything and having loved Ben so much as well it’s heartbreaking to know the two of them will never get the chance to meet.”
She continued to explain how motherhood has made her realise the pain that losing a child caused her own parents.
“I lost my brother and my best friend that night,” she said, while memories of watching TV with him flooded back.
“But losing a child… I never knew what that pain was and now the thought of it sometimes creeps up on me and I need to put a block on it.
“I’m only six weeks in so I can’t fall apart just yet, but I’ve had my moments. My mum and dad have always been my heroes, but even more so now.”
It comes after she admitted she and Simon were trying for a baby for two years before they received the good news that they were expecting.
Brooke revealed that it “took them a little while” before they were blessed with little Elsie.
“We got married in December 2017 and we started trying pretty much straight away,” she told OK! Magazine.
“I’m a big believer in fairy-tale movies, so I threw the contraception in the bin the day after we tied the knot. It took us a little while, but we got there in the end.”
Brooke’s full interview is available to read now in OK! Magazine.
