Kira Cousins admits fake baby hoax, cites miscarriage as motive

Kira Cousins, a 23‑year‑old former supermarket worker from Airdrie, Scotland, has spoken publicly for the first time about the fake‑baby scandal that made global headlines last October. She revealed that she had pretended to be pregnant, wore a prosthetic baby bump, shared fabricated ultrasound images and AI‑generated video of a “baby” kicking, and staged a lavish gender‑reveal party. The deception culminated in presenting a plastic doll, named Bonnie‑Leigh Joyce, as her newborn child, complete with photographs of a £1,000 pram and car seat.

Cousins says she could not tell her boyfriend, Jamie Gardner, that she had suffered a miscarriage and feared the consequences of admitting the truth. “I couldn’t tell him. I did lose a child… I was scared,” she told the Sunday Mail. Gardner confirmed he genuinely believed the doll was a real baby and said he would have ended the relationship had he known the truth. The story has attracted widespread media attention, with Cousins now blaming herself for the elaborate lie while acknowledging the emotional damage caused to her family and friends.