Florence Welch has opened up about experiencing an ectopic pregnancy.
Florence & The Machine are set to release their sixth album, ‘Everybody Scream’, on October 31, which Welch previously said was inspired by undergoing lifesaving surgery during the ‘Dance Fever’ tour in 2023.
Now, in a new interview with The Guardian, the musician has revealed that she had a miscarriage from an ectopic pregnancy in 2023. An ectopic pregnancy occurs when the fertilised egg is implanted in a fallopian tube, rather than the uterus. It’s uncommon, happening in only around 1 in 90 pregnancies, per the NHS.
The fallopian tube then ruptured, which caused internal bleeding. “The closest I came to making life was the closest I came to death,” she told the publication. “And I felt like I had stepped through this door, and it was just full of women, screaming.”
Welch said that two years ago, she and her boyfriend had decided to try to have a baby. “It was my first experience of even trying to get pregnant, and I thought, there’s no way, because I’m ancient.” She got pregnant the first time they tried. “It was a big shock. But it felt magical, as well. I felt I had followed a bodily instinct, in that animal sense, and it had happened.”
The miscarriage happened early on in the pregnancy, and Welch revealed that she wasn’t initially concerned for her health. “I think, because it was my first time being pregnant, and it was my first miscarriage, I was like, OK, I’ve heard this is part of it. I spoke to my doctor, and they are not generally dangerous. Devastating, but not dangerous.”
Welch went on to say that she was slated to headline a festival in Cornwall a week after the miscarriage, and decided to go ahead with the performance, saying: “Emotionally, I was sad and scared, but I think, also, I was coping.”
The previous year, Welch broke her foot while on stage in London and continued the performance while bleeding. “With physical stuff, I have a strange, otherworldly strength,” she told the paper. “Emotionally, I’m an absolute nightmare. Literally, will crumble,” she laughs. “But broken bone? Fine. Internal bleeding? Let’s go.”
She went on to say that, on the day of the Cornwall show, she was bleeding and in immense pain. You can find symptoms of ectopic pregnancies here, as well as advice if you are experiencing any.
Her doctor advised her to get checked, so she planned to go for a scan as soon as she was back at home in London. “Women! It’s funny. I took some ibuprofen and stepped out on stage,” she said. However, while travelling back to London, the pain worsened.
“Do you know the fucked-up thing?” she said. “I didn’t want to go for the scan. I thought, I’ve done this show, I’m fine, I can cope. But my doctor’s insistence that I come in saved my life.”
During the scan, she recalls that the doctor paused, causing her to “panic”. Her fallopian tube had ruptured and she “had a Coke can’s worth of blood in my abdomen.” She had emergency surgery, but her fallopian tube had to be removed as it couldn’t be saved.
“I tried to run away,” she said. “It was animal instinct. Like, run. But there was an [ultrasound wand] inside me and a woman I’d never met before, and I was like, ‘Gotta go!’”
Welch added that she had been supposed to fly to another festival, saying: “If I’d got on that plane, I’d have come off on a stretcher. Or worse.”
You can find more advice and support around ectopic pregnancy here, and miscarriage here.
‘Everybody Scream’ is set for release on October 31. The album, the group’s sixth, explores womanhood, partnership, ageing and dying, and sees singer-songwriter Mitski involved as well as Bowen and Dessner.
So far, the band have shared two singles: the title track, and ‘One Of The Greats’, which she wrote in one take with IDLES guitarist Mark Bowen.
The album follows 2022’s ‘Dance Fever’, which reached Number One in the UK, and in a four-star review, NME described it as “the triumphant sound of a singer reborn.” The review read: “This 14-track collection reflects a new sense of resolve, packing an invigorated spirit into powerful, sneakily thrilling pop.”
Florence + The Machine will be touring the album next year too, with UK and European dates across February and March, including two huge shows at London’s The O2. You can find a full list of dates here, and find tickets here.
