Luton Town midfielder Liam Walsh has spoken movingly about the miscarriage he and his England Lionesses partner Missy Bo Kearns recently suffered, thanking manager Jack Wilshere and the club’s supporters for helping them through an “unexplainable” loss.
Walsh revealed the couple decided to speak publicly after announcing the pregnancy earlier this year, explaining they wanted to acknowledge the messages they had received while also highlighting the hidden struggles many people face in similar situations.
The midfielder was withdrawn from last month’s 1-1 league draw with Stockport County as their pair grieved, and they made the news public during the international break. Walsh then returned to action for Town on Good Friday as Luton beat Peterborough United 2-1, where he was given a standing ovation by the Hatters faithful.
The 28-year-old said football has helped him cope, giving him a positive focus while he and Aston Villa Womens ace Kearns support each other away from the game.
“I think for me, really, it’s just coming into football and trying to just, not get away from it, but trying to move on in a positive way, which is being what my colleagues and doing the thing that I love every day,” Walsh said.
“And then obviously it’s going back home and supporting my missus every single minute of the day as well, checking up on her and trying to get her through it. We’ve got the best support inside and outside football, that we could ask for. We know it’s going to take time, but we will get through it.”
Walsh also praised Wilshere for the support he and Kearns have received from inside Kenilworth Road.
“I’ve had all the support in the world from my club, and so has Missy as well,” he added. “And, I think for me as well, earlier on, I had the manager, Jack. He’s been with me every step of the way and Missy as well. She says every day about how much he’s done for us both.
“But, yeah, with football stepping in the way, whenever I’m down or something’s going on, I need to keep busy and try and keep my mind busy and occupied. Coming in for like two or three hours a day, being with the lads, they’ll see me laughing and joking with them and all that because I’m quite a bubbly character and loud character. But then obviously you go out of football and back to reality.
“For Missy and me, I think that we’re glad that we’ve actually got football there and the support that we need.”
The midfielder also revealed he had been deeply moved by the reaction of Luton supporters, who reached out with messages of support after learning of the couple’s loss.
“Stu [Hammonds – head of press and communications] sent me over an email yesterday of all the messages from people that I don’t know, have never had contact with and the support on them, you get emotional reading it and [it’s from] someone that I’ve never met,” he said.
“I had a corner ten minutes into the [Peterborough] game and you’re hearing fans sing your song, and everyone’s saying, ‘we’re with you’ and it’s just stuff from random people that I don’t know. And obviously they’re there every week supporting. I couldn’t ask for much more from them.”
Asked why he’s opted to speak so openly about losing their baby, Walsh said: “I think for me, personally, I think because of where we’re both are and being out there in the public eye. Especially with when we announced the pregnancy, it was out there and I think following on from there, when we were bumping into people or stuff online, we started getting them saying messages of congratulations, and this and that.
“I knew how much it would hurt us both, and we had a good talk about it and the main reason why we wanted to put it out there was because people like us, where we’re in the public eye and people know about it. People in day-to-day life that are suffering just the same as us, but you don’t hear about it, and no one knows what they’re going through.
“It’s only the fact that we’re out there in the public eye that people know about it. I think the pain is just obviously unexplainable, and so we want to, not want to get a message out there on how to support people or what comes with it, but I think just you never know what some people are going through. And [it’s] all things, especially people close to you, just always checking out and being supportive of people, and I think that’s the right way to go about life.”
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