Domino Kirke, a singer and doula, recently detailed the aftermath of a second-trimester miscarriage via an Instagram post. She and her husband, actor Penn Badgley, described the profound emotional strain and health complications that followed the loss.
The song 'Mercy' and the rush back to doula work
Following a D&C procedure to address the pregnancy loss, Domino Kirke spent several days recovering at home, during which time she composed a song titled "Mercy" on the piano . According to the report, Kirke returned to her professional duties as a doula just days after the procedure, attending a birth to support another mother in labor while she was still physically healing.
Kirke described this period as being driven by adrenaline and a perceived professional obligation to act as a "superhero." Rather than seeking assistance from colleagues, Domino Kirke absorbed the emotional weight of the labor she was supporting while suppressing her own grief, a pattern she now identifies as a dangerous form of people-pleasing and workaholism.
Autoimmune disease and the risk of marital separation
The long-term consequences of this suppressed trauma were severe, as Domino Kirke noted that her refusal to face her grief contributed to the development of an autoimmune disease. The emotional toll also extended to her personal life, damaging her friendships and her relationship with her 17-year-old son, Cassius, from a previous relationship.
The strain on her marriage to Penn Badgley was equally acute. As reported in the source,the couple neared separation during this period, a struggle Badgley attributed to a culture that offers very little open dialogue or support for couples experiencing miscarriage. The couple eventually found stability, but the period following the second consecutive pregnancy loss remained one of the most volatile times in their relationship.
The cultural silence surrounding second-trimester loss
Domino Kirke’s experience highlights a broader, systemic issue regarding caregiver burnout and the lack of social frameworks for grieving parents. Kirke explained that she lacked the tools or skills to ask for help without feeling like a failure, a sentiment that echoes the pressures faced by many professional caregivers who are expected to remain stoic while managing the trauma of others.
This narrative fits into a wider trend of public figures breaking the silence on reproductive loss to combat the isolation often felt by parents. By sharing her breakdown—which occurred moonths later during a doula training session—Domino Kirke warns that unresolved trauma inevitably resurfaces, suggesting that professional caregivers must perform deep internal work to avoid inevitable burnout.
Penn Badgley’s 2025 essays and the path to a family of six
In an essay collection released in October 2025, Penn Badgley reflected on the lasting psychological impact of the loss, specifically mentioning the trauma of seeing ultrasound imagery of their stillborn baby. Badgley noted on the Totally Booked With Zibby podcast that while the joy of his current children has made it harder to reconnect with that specific grief,the memory remains a poignant part of his history.
While the couple has since expanded their family, some details remain unclear.. The report states the couple has "expanded their family to six," but it does not specify if this refers to six children or six total family members.. Additionally,while the source mentions a son born in September 2020 and the subsequent birth of twins, the exact timeline and number of other children are not explicitly detailed, leaving the full composition of the Badgley-Kirke household open to interpretation.
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