Kira Cousins, 22, revealed her ‘newborn baby’ – which was actually a doll – was found in her bedroom by her mum, and that none of the family members knew about the situation
12:11, 21 Oct 2025
Kira Cousins faked having a baby, and even had a gender reveal party(Image: UGC)
A family has been left in turmoil after it emerged a woman faked her own pregnancy and birth, and her supposed newborn baby was later found to be a doll.
Kira Cousins, 22, from Airdrie, in Scotland, announced the supposed birth of her “daughter” Bonnie-Leigh earlier this month on social media and claimed she weighed in at 5lbs 4oz.
However, it has now been revealed that her supposed baby was, in fact, a Reborn baby doll. She is accused of going to extreme lengths to fool her partner, family and friends by wearing a prosthetic bump, sharing fake hospital updates and even hosting a gender-reveal party, where her “baby” was revealed to be a girl.
Loved ones and friends say they even bought her expensive items, including a £1,000 pram. After concerns were raised about the baby, and how Kira did not want to let her family see her, she shared a statement on social media.
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The baby was eventually revealed to be a Reborn doll
In a post shared to TikTok, she said: “In my own words let’s set this straight. The next thing I know, I was confronted by all the family.
She added: “Don’t for one minute think they let me away with this, they haven’t. And none of them knew. Neither did the dad and his family.”
Despite the 22-year-old’s confession, questions remain about how exactly she pulled off the shocking stunt…
How did she get maternity leave?
Reports on social media suggest Kira used her annual leave to fake maternity leave, but this has not been confirmed.
This would mean she didn’t need to fill out the relevant forms, and no fraudulent claims would have been made in that respect.
To apply for paid maternity leave, you need a maternity certificate (MATB1 form) or a doctor’s letter confirming your pregnancy and due date. While you need to give your employer proof of the pregnancy to get Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP), you do not need it for maternity leave.
‘Kicking’ baby video theories
She shared a video of her baby “kicking”
In the weeks before the “birth” of Bonnie-Leigh, Kira posted photos of baby scans and videos of her lavish gender reveal party, along with footage of the “baby” kicking in her tummy.
“Wee princess kicking,” she captioned a video of her pressing down on her faux bump.
Some have speculated the video was created by AI, while others suspected she feigned the movement with her filming technique.
One person wrote on social media: “The bump was like my memory foam pillow and to make it look like a kick she shook her phone.”
How did she hide it from her partner?
Kira’s boyfriend was under the impression he was going to be a father. Social posts claim neither him or his family had any inkling the “baby” was fake.
It is not clear how Kira’s partner failed to discover the truth throughout the months of her supposed pregnancy – for example, how he didn’t ask to see the baby sleeping, hear it cry, hold it, or how the bump was never questioned.
Kira has released a statement(Image: UGC)
Online reports suggest Kira did not allow her partner to attend “doctors visits” with her. She also reportedly told family and friends that her boyfriend – and his family – were not happy with the news of her “pregnancy,” believing the couple had not been together long enough to raise a baby.
How did no one realise?
Kira put on a convincing act, spending approximately nine months acting as though she was pregnant.
She is said to have used a prosthetic bump, posted fake scan photos, claimed the baby had a medical defect – and even held a gender-reveal party complete with pink confetti after learning “baby Bonnie-Leigh” was a girl.
Family members say they were buying baby clothes, prams and gifts quite happily, believing the tiny bundle of joy was truly coming. Months into her supposed pregnancy, Kira even told loved-ones that her unborn baby was diagnosed with a life-threatening heart condition.
When the paternal grandmother met the “baby,” she reportedly noticed the infant was cold and unusually still – but Kira is said to have brushed it off, saying she’d taken the baby to the hospital and that she was just unwell with a cold.
However, suspicions arose when loved ones noticed the “baby” had not cried and that Kira refused to let anyone touch it, claiming the baby had been to hospital for recent check ups.
Kira was eventually confronted by her family (Image: UGC)
Kira’s friend Neave McRobert revealed how she pieced together the bizarre case. In a video statement filmed on October 16, 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.”
A friend of Kira’s family, who asked not to be named, also told the Daily Record of her shock at the news but said she suspected the pregnancy was fake all along. Describing Kira as a “serial liar”, she said: “I have known her for 10 years and she has lied about all sorts.
“She came into my house twice before this doll appeared and me and daughter noticed straight away that her bump wasn’t real. It was all lumpy. She was wearing very thin pyjamas and you could see the straps on her back holding it on.
“When she posted the picture of her supposed baby, it knew looked like a doll but I would have been slaughtered if I had spoken out about all this and said I didn’t think any of it was real. People would have thought I was crazy.”
