Florence Welch, lead singer of Florence & The Machine, revealed in a recent interview that she nearly died from an ectopic pregnancy. The incident also required emergency life-saving surgery.
Videos by Suggest
Welch shared the “devastating” experience in a new interview with the Guardian.
“The closest I came to making life was the closest I came to death,” the “Dog Days are Over” told the outlet. “And I felt like I had stepped through this door, and it was just full of women, screaming.”
According to the Cleveland Clinic, an ectopic pregnancy happens when a fertilized egg implants and grows outside the main cavity of the uterus. This can lead to severe abdominal or pelvic pain, vaginal bleeding, extreme lightheadedness, and other symptoms.
Welch, 39, became pregnant at 37 with her on-again, off-again guitarist boyfriend in 2023, whose identity she kept private.
The singer was scheduled to headline the Cornwall Music Festival.
On the day of her show, however, Welch felt sickly and in pain, looked pale, and bled heavily. Her doctors advised her to get checked after her performance.
After returning to London, the singer’s physician discovered that her fallopian tube had ruptured.
“I had a Coke can’s worth of blood in my abdomen,” Welch recalled.
Pop Singer Florence Welch Reflects on Emergency Surgery
The “Never Let Me Go” singer required emergency surgery to remove the tube.
Welch felt an overwhelming urge to escape during the procedure, but stated she couldn’t go “anywhere.” She added that she later became “so embarrassed that [she] was causing a fuss.”
“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 said.
“I think the sound that came out of me was like a wounded animal or something,” she admitted. “And then, that was that.”
Welch also reflected on the trauma of losing her baby, noting she once believed her first miscarriage was a normal part of pregnancy.
“I spoke to my doctor, and they are not generally dangerous. Devastating, but not dangerous,” she recalled.
Welch’s recent revelations come years after she abruptly canceled UK tour dates in August 2023, surprising fans.
Though initially attributed to a foot injury, she later stated the surgery was for undisclosed reasons she didn’t “really feel strong enough to go into yet,” but that “saved [her] life.”