Fake baby scandal 'mum' Kira Cousins issues grovelling apology after doll hoax
Kira Cousins, 22, was accused of duping those closest to her into believing her plastic Reborn doll was her tiny daughter, named Bonnie-Leigh Joyce, after a months of faking a pregnancy
The "mum" embroiled in the fake baby scandal has taken to social media to address the hoax that left the internet reeling. Kira Cousins, 22, stands accused of deceiving her nearest and dearest into believing her plastic Reborn doll was her newborn daughter, Bonnie-Leigh Joyce.
This followed months of sporting a prosthetic bump before pretending to give birth alone. Breaking her silence on the fiasco on Tuesday morning, the Scots woman wrote: "I'm so sorry."
In an Instagram post, she confessed: "I wasn't pregnant. There was no baby. I made it up and kept it going way too far.
"I faked scans, messages, a whole birth story, and acted like a doll was a real baby", reports the Daily Record. "I know how bad it is, I f***** up. I just didn't know how to stop once I started.
"I don't have a proper excuse. I wasn't in a good headspace, but that doesn't make what I did okay. I know this is gonna stick with me for a long time and that I've probably lost friends I'll never get back.
"I'm trying to figure myself out and get help because this version of me isn't someone I want to be. I know I've ruined a lot of trust and that 'sorry' won't fix everything but it's all I can say right now."
Kira, hailing from Airdrie, proceeded to extend her apologies to all those she deceived. She added: "I'm so sorry. You were there for me through it all. You cried happy tears, picked me up, brought me places, believed everything I said.
"You didn't deserve to be lied to like that. None of you did. Everyone who came to the gender reveal, all the people who gave me gifts or support - I f***** up and I hurt a lot of people.
"And to everyone I made look bad along the way – the dad and his family especially – I'm sorry. I made you out to be horrible people when really, I was the one in the wrong. Completely."
Kira then defended those who had been deceived into believing the doll was genuine. She continued: "In everyone else's defence, the doll could move. You could change the facial features, arms and legs.
"You could feed the doll making it 'pee or poo'. So when no one is close to the doll, it does look real. No one was looking at my "baby" expecting it to be a doll."
In the weeks before the supposed "birth", she shared ultrasound images and clips from her gender reveal party. Additionally, she posted footage of the "baby" moving in her belly, numerous photos of newborn outfits, and gifts from family and friends, including a £1,000 pushchair and car seat.
She even documented hospital visits and alleged that prenatal screenings had detected a cardiac condition in her baby. The "mum" was subsequently exposed online as a "serial liar" after the baby's father discovered that what he believed was his six-day-old infant was actually a doll, with Kira's mother uncovering the prop in her bedroom.
In screenshot messages allegedly sent by Kira afterwards, she appears to inform the man, whom she claimed was Bonnie-Leigh's father, that their baby had passed away.
Kira Cousins declined to comment when initially approached by the Record on Monday, but posted online confirmation of her actions shortly after our conversation.
We previously reported that friend Neave McRobert observed that those closest to Kira first grew suspicious after nobody had heard the "baby" cry in a video statement recorded on October 16.
She also revealed how Kira prevented anyone from touching her, claiming Bonnie-Leigh had recently attended Wishaw General Hospital for examinations due to poor health.
Neave said: "I noticed Kira had deleted every picture and video of Bonnie-Leigh from our chats.
"I asked her why and she ignored me. I then asked the baby's dad 'Is this a doll?' and he said, 'Yes, it's a doll'.
"She even went to the extreme of texting him saying, 'Bonnie-Leigh died'. I can't imagine how he must feel right now and everyone else who has been lied to for months and months.
"Everybody believed her. She had a gender reveal, she posted scan photos and even said the baby had a hole in its heart.
"Then she texted me saying the baby was born. We were all so happy."
Screenshots of Neave's exchanges with Kira regarding Bonnie-Leigh were circulated online, accompanied by others displaying the doll in a series of now-deleted posts from the "new mum".
Neave also recounted how she encountered "baby" Bonnie-Leigh when she accompanied her former mate and the doll to a supermarket.
She added: "I feel worse because I'm one of the few people to meet this 'baby'. I feel totally used and drained. Everyone got conned by her."
Neave's video attracted thousands of interactions with viewers expressing comments of horror and disgust.
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