Rivals star Emily Atack says she secretly battled sepsis after giving birth which led to her slimmer appearance – as she says her ‘body holds all her trauma’

Emily Atack revealed that she suffered from sepsis after giving birth to her son, which led to weight loss.

The 36-year-old The Rivals actress welcomed her first son, Barney, with her fiancé Alistair Garner in 2024.

Explaining the trauma of her experience, she explained that she could not leave the house for weeks after a difficult pregnancy and birth.

he said Grazia magazine: ‘I was trolled for being gigantic when I was pregnant and now I’m trolled for losing weight.

‘My body carries all my traumas, happiness and joys. I had a very difficult pregnancy. I was very sick after birth. I had sepsis and couldn’t leave the house for weeks. “It was very bad.”

Emily has since faced accusations from fans that she turned to weight loss injections after flaunting her slimmed down physique in Instagram posts.

She said: ‘I had a very difficult pregnancy. I was very sick after birth. I had sepsis and couldn’t leave the house for weeks. ‘It was very bad’

Addressing speculation about her weight loss, Emily continued: ‘I would like to ask people for some patience and understanding on such a complex issue. Women’s bodies are constantly changing. ‘I’m so tired of defending him.’

Emily confirmed she is now in much better health and looking forward to marrying Alistair in September.

The star previously opened up about her relationship with and trolling her post-pregnancy body while appearing on Jamie Laing’s Great Company podcast.

She said: ‘There is something very liberating about having a baby. Your body is going through so much that you literally look at your body as a completely different vessel.

‘Being pregnant and desexualizing, taking care of your body, you create a human being inside you, then you give birth to your child – which is mental, by the way – you go home and the first thing people say to you is when are you going back to the gym?’

He added: ‘Are you kidding? I just created a human, I’m tired! I just tried to get a person out of me and ripped him out of my stomach.

‘The last thing I want to do is go to the gym but the first thing expected of you is to get back into shape.

‘Where are the congratulations on becoming a mother? Instead, when are you going to lose the baby weight… I’m not going back to the gym at the moment, in fact I’ve gained more weight since giving birth. I’m just enjoying this job.’

The actress said: ‘I was trolled for being huge when I was pregnant and now I’m being trolled for losing weight’

Emily revealed she has always had a ‘healthy relationship’ with her weight but was not prepared for the comments she received for her breakthrough role as Charlotte Hinchcliffe in The Inbetweeners.

‘Everyone started talking about my weight,’ she explained. ‘There was a Facebook page dedicated to me/Charlotte Hinchcliffe. I couldn’t believe how bad it was for people to talk about my weight.

‘People were then trying to be positive and say, ‘At least we’re seeing curvier girls playing sexier roles on TV now.’ I didn’t even know I was curvy!

‘I was a size eight, with a tiny body, but it was the first time some people had seen a girl who wasn’t really skinny. ‘They were used to seeing very skinny actresses playing sexy girls.’