Paris Fury breaks silence on devastating miscarriage and huge sacrifice she made for Tyson
Paris Fury has opened up about the heartbreaking miscarriage she endured ahead of husband Tyson Fury's crucial world heavyweight clash - and the devastating decision she was forced to make
by Siobhan McNally · The MirrorIt was one of the hardest decisions Paris Fury ever had to make – to face the pain of losing a child alone or tell Tyson and risk destroying his world title hopes.
The mum-of-seven chose to lie to her husband of 15 years that their eighth baby had died in pregnancy while he was away preparing for a crucial world heavyweight clash in Saudi Arabia.
But now she hopes sharing her traumatic experience can help break the taboo surrounding miscarriages.
Paris was devastated to be told the unborn tot had no heartbeat when she went for a routine gender scan.
Recalling that dreadful night in May, the 35-year-old revealed hiding the truth from Tyson was her only option as she struggled to come to terms with the fact she had to give birth to a lifeless child.
She said: "I had to make the decision, do I tell him? And I came to the conclusion that whatever was happening with me, I couldn’t change it. But I could change dramatically what was happening in his life.
Knowing he was expecting her to join him ringside in Riyadh, she said: “I made up a lie that I had high blood pressure. It was the only thing I could think of that would stop me from flying without having to give him the terrible news.
"I was alone at the time. Tyson was in Saudi Arabia getting ready for his fight in the training camp, I'd had my 12-week scan, and everything was well, so I’d just popped in for a gender scan. Obviously having had multiple pregnancies, I just got a friend to watch the kids and I thought I’d come down and find out what it is, and then I could tell Tyson when I went over to join him in Saudi."
As she sat on the bed for her scan, Paris told how she expected to see the flutter of a tiny heartbeat on the ultrasound screen.
She said: "I knew there was a problem. I didn’t know, my head was sort of telling me, actually, no, you’re wrong… but I was looking at screen, thinking, ‘Why is that not flickering?’”
Then came the devastating news. She added: “The sonographer said to me, ‘I’m really sorry, Paris, there’s no heartbeat. I jumped up, started to cry, and said, ‘No, hold on, hold on. No, no, wait,’ and went all frantic.” In shock and disbelief, Paris, who lives in Morecambe, Lancs, made the sonographer scan her again.
Unable to 100% confirm the terrible news, she was booked to go to her local Lancaster Hospital the next day.
Paris recalled walking out of the building in tears. She added: “I thought, ‘I can’t go home to the kids and be crying and hysterical like this.’”
Instead, she went to a friend for comfort. Speaking about her previous loss, Paris said: “I’ve had three miscarriages. I lost one in the first trimester, and two in the second trimester, two that I’ve had to deliver. We’ve buried two baby boys.” And she praised hospital staff for the handling of her latest trauma.
Paris, who had only given birth to their youngest, Rico, eight months earlier, said: “When I went in, they said I was too far on to be put to sleep and told me, ‘You’ve got to have the baby.’ The staff were amazing. There was a midwife with me the whole way through. It’s a horrific ordeal to go through but they were exceptional.”
Even during the anguish of giving birth to a child she would never know, Paris put on a brave face for the sake of her husband, who was due to fight Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk in the unified undisputed fight for the WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO titles. She said: “The whole time I was in the hospital, Tyson was FaceTiming me, saying, ‘You’re all right, then?”
Tyson offered to send a private jet to take her to Saudi.
Paris added: “I kept telling him. ‘No, I don’t want to risk it. He told me later, ‘I knew something was wrong, I just didn’t want to believe it.’”
Paris returned home to her children, who range in age from Rico, now one, to 15 and were mostly blissfully unaware of her trauma. She added: “The little ones didn’t know about it, but my older daughter understood and she helped me in the home.”
Tyson lost his fight in Saudi while Paris watched on TV. She said: “It’s a shame that he didn’t win this fight which was upsetting.” Not wanting to want to break the bad news to Tyson over the phone, she waited for him to arrive home next day.
She said: “It does affect the father, but for the woman who carries that child, it is more severe. No matter how much it hurts Tyson, it’s 10 times worse for me. But where I’d had time to process the idea, it took him days to face the burial. He said, ‘I can’t do it right now.’”
The couple buried their baby in a private location. They remained silent until Tyson broke the news while announcing a rematch with Usyk in December.
Paris said: “I knew it would come out and the day it did, I was happy to talk about it. It makes it normal for other people to know that they’re not the only ones it happens to.” Speaking of the mental anguish women suffer with a miscarriage, she added: “Don’t blame yourself.
“At the time it feels like your world is ripped to pieces. But I know everyone can get through it. And what is so traumatic one day, becomes a memory. You know, you had that little piece of life, even if it’s such a short time. Mentally I’m at ease with what went on. Physically, I’m OK.”
But Paris vowed never to miss another of Tyson’s fights, and her husband will return to the ring for a second time on December 21 in Riyadh, where Paris is determined to be with him this time.
She confides, “I said after the last fight, I’d never miss another one. I think there was just too much going on in his head last time. And yeah, I think 100% he’ll be coming home with the belt.”
If you would like support on the topic of baby loss, you can contact Tommy's charity helpline on 0800 0147 800 or visit their official website here.