Ultrasound pictures and baby shower Fake birth shocks family - young woman (22) fools everyone
A 22-year-old from Scotland pretended to be pregnant for months - including a baby bump, ultrasound images and birth posts. In the end, the hoax was exposed: The supposed newborn was actually a deceptively real doll.
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- 22-year-old Kira Cousins from Scotland faked a pregnancy and birth.
- She used a silicone baby to deceive friends, family and the alleged father.
- The hoax only came to light when her mother found the doll.
A bizarre case is causing a stir in Scotland: Kira Cousins (22) faked a pregnancy for months - and even invented an elaborate birth story. She posted ultrasound pictures on Instagram, showed off her supposed baby bump and held a "gender reveal" party at which she announced the sex of her alleged daughter.
Cousins led everyone to believe that she had given birth to a daughter named Bonnie-Leigh Joyce on October 10. But the child never existed. Instead, she presented her relatives with a deceptively real silicone doll, a so-called "reborn doll", according to British media reports.
When her mother found the doll in her bedroom, the hoax was discovered. Shortly afterwards, the 22-year-old published a confession on Instagram: "I was never pregnant. There was no baby. I made it all up - the scans, the messages, the whole story."
The posts have since been deleted, but the case spread quickly on social networks. According to the Daily Record, friends and acquaintances who felt deceived called the young woman a "serial liar".
The alleged father believed in the baby's death
Particularly perfidious: even before the truth came to light, Cousins had told the alleged father that the newborn baby had died. It was only afterwards that the young woman's mother discovered the doll and informed the family.
In a later apology, Cousins tried to explain her behavior: The doll had acted deceptively real - with moving limbs, changing facial features and even a function that simulated feeding. "Nobody would have thought it wasn't a real baby," she wrote.
Psychological background unclear
It is unclear why Cousins kept up the hoax for so long. "Reborn dolls" are often used as therapeutic aids for people suffering from childlessness or the loss of a child. In recent years, however, they have also become an internet trend, with users publicly passing the dolls off as real babies.
The British police are currently investigating whether Cousins broke any laws or whether the case is purely a case of deception with no criminal relevance.
