In one of the most shocking viral hoaxes of the year, a young Scottish woman named Kira Cousins has admitted to completely faking her pregnancy — from phony ultrasound scans to passing off a silicone doll as her newborn baby girl.
The elaborate ruse exploded across social media in October 2025 and even became a trending topic on TikTok, with several users going down a rabbit hole to learn the entire story as it began to unravel.
In another surprise turn of events, Cousins issued an apology on October 21, expressing remorse for trying to convince loved ones and the rest of the world that she welcomed a daughter named Bonnie-Leigh Joyce.
“I’m so sorry,” she wrote in a now-deleted Instagram story obtained by the Daily Record. “I wasn’t pregnant. There was no baby. I made it up and kept it going way too far. I faked scans, messages, a whole birth story, and acted like a doll was a real baby.”
She continued, “I don’t have a proper excuse. I wasn’t in a good headspace, but that doesn’t make what I did okay. I know this is gonna stick with me for a long time and that I’ve probably lost friends I’ll never get back.”
Us Weekly dives into the hoax and rumors surrounding Kira Cousins’ story:
Who Is Kira Cousins?
Cousins, a young woman from the town of Airdrie in Scotland, went viral after fooling friends and the man who she claimed was the baby’s father into believing she was pregnant, as reported by The New York Post.
Cousins generated interest in her faux pregnancy journey by sporting a growing prosthetic bump, even holding a gender reveal party during which pink confetti was sprinkled in the air.
She also uploaded ultrasound images and alleged that preliminary tests had detected a heart defect in the child, further claiming that she ultimately gave “birth” alone.
Her baby supposedly weighed 5 pounds and 4 ounces, arriving on October 10.
What Did Kira Cousins Say After Admitting to the Hoax?
While speaking out about the ordeal, Cousins apologized and acknowledged those who showed her support every step of the way prior to her shocking admission.
“You cried happy tears, picked me up, brought me places, believed everything I said,” her statement read, per the report. “You didn’t deserve to be lied to like that. None of you did. Everyone who came to the gender reveal, all the people who gave me gifts or support — I f***ed up and I hurt a lot of people. And to everyone I made look bad along the way — the dad and his family especially — I’m sorry.”
The baby that was seen ultimately turned out to be a Reborn Doll.
“In everyone else’s defense, the doll could move. You could change the facial features, arms and legs,” she clarified, according to multiple reports.
Is Netflix Working on a ‘Cradle Con’ Documentary About Kira Cousins?
Cousins’ hoax took on a life of its own with a supposed Netflix documentary that was claimed to be “coming soon.”
However, the promotional shot making its rounds on social media was created by AI.
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