Nadia Sawalha’s husband in tears as he discusses harrowing moment for the family

Loose Women panellist Nadia and her husband Mark have discussed the terrifying moment he thought she might die whilst giving birth to their eldest daughter Maddie, now 15.

In their regular YouTube series How To Stay Married (So Far), the couple opened up in a candid discussion about that day in 2002.

Nadia revealed that she was determined to have a home birth - despite Mark's concerns for her.

But she confessed that when things began to go wrong, she hadn't given a thought to how terrifying the experience would have been for Mark.

53-year-old Nadia was told she needed to go to hospital, but refused, saying that she 'knew' she and her baby were going to be fine. However now, she has called their first daughter Maddie, a "survivor of torture after a difficult birth".

But in the video, Nadia admitted to Mark, "I've never really asked you about that. How scary was it for you?"

Mark, Nadia's husband of 16 years, went on to confess that the experience was harrowing, saying, "Scary doesn't even come into it."

Becoming tearful, Mark continued, "I don't want to get too emotional about it, but I thought you were going to die. I genuinely did.

"And I just remember feeling very cross with every part of your life that suggested this so-called approach was the right approach. I mean I genuinely thought you were going to die."

Producer Mark also discussed how his fear extended into worries for his new baby daughter, and how she coped with the traumatic birth.

MORE: ‘It Makes Me Cry’: Nadia Sawalha Shares The Devastating Pain Of Miscarriage In Emotional New Video

"And then, when she [Maddie] was born, I genuinely thought she was dead. So in that night, I mean no man can even begin to imagine the pain of delivery, but in many regards I wish I was the person going through the physical agony, so I didn't have the slight distance to see you nearly die and see Maddie come out and not seem to breathe.

"And I was so out of control, I remember pacing up and down the hall. I was annoyed with your sister being there, with the midwife, because I felt they were getting in the way."

(Image credit: Shutterstock/Rex)

Luckily, Nadia went on to have a far more relaxed birth with their second daughter Kiki, now, 11, with Mark describing it as "heartwarming".

In the video, he said, "Ironically, Kiki's birth was one of the most heartwarmingly complete sharing experiences I have had in my life, that we couldn’t have had in hospital.

"It was life-changing, completely gobsmacking moment where I felt connected to you where I never felt more connected to you."

Amy Hunt

Amy Hunt is an experienced digital journalist specialising in homes, interiors and hobbies. She began her career working as the features assistant at woman&home magazine, before moving over to the digital side of the brand where she eventually became the Lifestyle Editor up until January 2022. Amy won the Digital Journalist of the Year award at the AOP Awards in 2019 for her work on womanandhome.com.