It's been 17 years since Rebecca Adlington became a household name after her stunning performance at the Beijing Olympics. At just 19, the Mansfield-born swimmer clinched gold in both the 400-metre and 800-metre freestyles, smashing the world record in the latter. She made history as the first woman to bag swimming gold for Team GB in nearly half a century and the first British swimmer to secure more than one gold medal at a single Olympics in 100 years. Adlington's star continued to rise as she added Commonwealth, European and World Championship golds to her collection, along with two bronze medals at the London Olympics in 2012. However, at the tender age of 23, she decided to retire from competitive swimming in 2013. Since then, she has carved out a successful career as a BBC pundit and dabbled in reality TV, featuring on shows like I'm A Celebrity ... Get Me Out Of Here!, Celebrity MasterChef and The Jump, reports Wales Online . Despite her professional success , Adlington has faced personal challenges in recent years, including a divorce, two heartbreaking miscarriages, and a life-altering diagnosis. Here's what you need to know. Adlington tied the knot with her first husband Harry Needs in 2014, five years after they first crossed paths as budding professional swimmers. In less than a year, the couple welcomed their daughter, Summer, but their marriage ended 18 months later in an "amicable" separation. In a statement on her website, Adlington announced, "It's after much thought and sadness that we confirm our separation. It is on amicable terms and we still remain close friends." The couple prioritised co-parenting their daughter, stating, "We move forward with respect for one another and our focus and commitment is on parenting our gorgeous daughter Summer." Four years later, Needs publicly revealed his bisexuality, explaining that he hadn't explored his sexuality before marrying Adlington. This secrecy led to anxiety and depression, and he shared with GuysForYou, "I didn't say a thing. For me personally, my journey with Rebecca was a destination to love." Needs found it difficult to acknowledge his bisexuality, especially with no same-sex experience. He committed to his relationship with Adlington, saying, "I think as an unconfident bisexual man it was extremely difficult back then to admit it even to myself, especially considering I had zero experience with the same sex. Once I knew I loved Rebecca, I was committed to that relationship and its journey for the rest of my life." After coming out to Adlington a year post-separation, Needs said she was very supportive. He clarified, "I never felt I deceived her, because I loved her and like I already said, I never had the time to discover my full sexuality." Adlington eventually found love again with facilities manager Andy Parsons, whom she met on the dating site Bumble. During a stint on Loose Women , Adlington opened up about the beginnings of their romance, admitting: "I was like Oh God, I don't want to do online dating. I was just terrified by all my friends' stories." She added: "I just got to the point where I thought that's how you meet people nowadays, it's very rare that you just bump into somebody and meet them." "So, I decided 'Oh I'll give it a try to see how it goes' and literally I was on the app two weeks, matched with Andy, my partner, and we just clicked," she said. "After another two weeks of chatting, we met up for a date and the rest is history." The couple enjoyed three years of dating before tying the knot in 2021, and they welcomed their son Albie in the same year. Despite being blessed with two children, Adlington has also endured the heartbreak of two miscarriages, the first of which happened in 2022. The miscarriage was detected during a routine 12-week scan at the hospital, leading to emergency surgery and sepsis treatment for the former swimmer. "It's such a devastating time but important in times like these we remember we aren't alone and have so much support," she shared with her Instagram followers. "After a day of treating sepsis, a kidney infection and a fever, I'm slowly on the mend. Long way to go but I'm in the right place,". However, a year later, Adlington and her husband were dealt another devastating blow when she suffered a miscarriage at 20 weeks. Their daughter Harper was stillborn in October 2023, leaving the couple "truly heartbroken". They released a statement expressing their eternal love for their lost child. Adlington shared the heartbreaking news, writing: "I don't really have the words right now but unfortunately we went for our 20-week scan this week and they found no heartbeat," She continued, "I gave birth to our angel, Harper, on Friday at 7pm. We held her, and had time with her. We will forever love her and remember her always." She admitted her struggle to share the tragic news, saying: "I don't have the strength or words right now and don't feel ready to share this news. However, I can't pretend to be ok or fake a smile. I can't have people ask me how pregnancy is or when I am due as I still look pregnant. I don't have the strength to tell this news individually. "We are so truly heartbroken," she added. "Our beautiful girl. Rest in peace." Following the tragedy, Adlington confessed to the Times that she "hated [her] body" and couldn't help but blame herself, admitting: "It was very hard for me to accept. "I'm very logical so I wanted to find out why this had happened. But the post-mortem showed there was no reason; sometimes things just happen. I have to come to terms with that somehow and stop obsessing about it." In other recent news, Adlington has been lauded for her bravery after disclosing her diagnosis with coeliac disease. The beloved Team GB legend has shared candid details about her recent health struggles in a heartfelt video on Coeliac UK's Instagram page, prompting her legion of fans to rally for the cause of maintaining gluten-free prescriptions. Anyone with this auto-immune disorder experiences their immune system mistakenly targeting their own body when ingesting gluten, resulting in damage to the small intestine accompanied by stomach pains, bloating, indigestion, constipation, fatigue, and diarrhoea. For these individuals, steering clear of gluten is a must, making access to gluten-free prescriptions an essential element of managing their health. Faced with the potential loss of this critical support, Adlington made a powerful plea: "Hello everyone. As someone newly diagnosed with coeliac disease, I have definitely quickly learnt how vital gluten-free prescriptions are for managing this condition. "But in some areas, these prescriptions are totally being cut. Coeliac UK is handing a petition to Number 10 to make sure we're heard, so please sign and share the petition today." The advocacy efforts bore fruit as the petition secured a stunning 22,826 supporters, successfully being presented at Downing Street earlier this month. Follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .