The North London woman said there’s a negative stereotype around doll owners
Jess believes the dolls can be a source of comfort to those experiencing grief
A woman who owns 15 reborn dolls to “practise” parenting fears that the recent ‘fake baby’ scandal involving Kira Cousins reinforces the stereotype that doll owners are “crazy”.
Jess Ellis, a 29-year-old from Newham, London, began creating and collecting these hyper-realistic dolls after her struggle with PCOS made it difficult for her to conceive. The content creator describes them as “beautiful” to look at and believes they trigger similar hormones to those experienced by mothers caring for newborns.
However, Reborn dolls have been in the spotlight this week following revelations that Kira Cousins, 22, allegedly faked giving birth using one of these dolls. Reports suggest she received hundreds of pounds worth of gifts before her family discovered her newborn daughter was actually a doll.
Jess stressed that the majority of doll owners ‘know they aren’t real babies’
Cousins is accused of wearing a prosthetic baby bump, sharing ultrasound images, hosting a gender reveal party, and even posting a video of the ‘baby’ kicking. While Jess, a HR business partner, does not condone Cousins’ alleged actions, she suspects that Cousins may have experienced some form of loss beforehand.
She stated: “I absolutely cannot condone what she’s done. It’s really awful to do to your family, having said that, I wonder if she’s had some sort of mental breakdown or something. A mentally well person does not do that kind of thing. I’ve seen a lot of people talking about her online and I think she needs some help.”
Jess started her collection in May 2020, feeling “lonely” during the pandemic. Her first doll, Rebecca, cost her £250, and she quickly expanded her collection with newborn-like dolls Zain, Sam, Annalese and Aria. To date, Jess has splashed out over £6k on baby accessories alone.
Jess specialises in painting the dolls to give them a realistic look
The soothing effects of the dolls come from their “weighted” feel and the distraction of dressing them up. Jess also believes they trigger similar maternal hormones as a real baby – providing comfort for women struggling to conceive or couples who have suffered a miscarriage.
However, she fears that Cousins’ alleged actions may now give people the wrong impression about reborn dolls.
She said: “Most of the time people get a reborn because they like the dolls, but they are also used for some kind of grief and they can be very beneficial. I worry that when stories like this come out that it’s reinforcing that people who have reborn dolls are crazy and that we think they are real and that we’re trying to trick our family and friends and that’s not the case at all.”
The dolls are ultra realistic, and some even have hair
Jess added: “I’ve seen people who have used them for grief but not pass them off as real, I’ve never seen that before.”
Jess, who shares videos about the dolls on her TikTok and YouTube accounts, says she hasn’t received any negative comments yet. She added: “I haven’t had any backlash so far – I made a video about this story, so we’ll see what kind of comments I get.”
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