A Woman's Faked Pregnancy Involved a Gender Reveal Party and Lifelike Doll — It Gets Weirder

There is so much discussion around artificial intelligence (AI) and the ability to fool people that we often forget a scam can be just as effective in the real world. Let's look at this concept through a Hollywood lens. While CGI apparently has very few limits, nothing can really beat a practical special effect.

Fraudsters have been taking advantage of people for centuries. According to Investopedia, the first documented con occurred in 300 B.C. when a Greek sea merchant suck his ship in order to collect on the insurance. It's crazy to think that insurance fraud dates back to ancient Greece. More than 2,300 years later, a swindle has taken social media by storm. It involves a young woman who used a doll she named Bonnie Leigh and a faked pregnancy that was carried to a lie-filled term. Here's what we know.

In October 2025, TikTok was buzzing with shared videos of a pregnant girl excitedly caressing a large baby bump while beaming. In one TikTok, she and her boyfriend are hugging after a gender reveal party at which the couple finds out they are having a girl. It's nearly impossible to find the original TikToks, but we did stumble upon a woman on TikTok who was friends with Kira Cousins, the girl who faked her pregnancy.

In a series of TikToks, Neave McRobert explained how everything went down. Cousins texted McRobert about her pregnancy around February 2025. McRobert was really happy for her friend who shared that her boyfriend, Jamie, repeatedly begged her to have an abortion. Not only did Cousins refuse to do that, but she texted Jamie's mother with the good news, which he did not want to share with her. The couple had only been together about a month. Jamie's mom was not pleased.

The gender reveal party came four months later and included both sides of the family. A couple weeks later, things took a turn when Cousins posted about the baby having a hole in its heart. McRobert believes Cousins was laying the groundwork for a future announcement that the baby died during birth. The baby was allegedly born Oct. 10, 2025, and per a text from Cousins, weighed the same as Jamie when he was born. Kira shared that the baby's name was Bonnie Leigh.

Cousins sent McRobert a video of Bonnie Leigh in a car seat, and according to the confused friend, the baby had everything a hospital would give a newborn. McRobert goes on to explain that while Cousins was pregnant, she claimed Jamie's family was not very supportive of her. The jig was up when Cousins brought the baby doll to Jamie's parents' house. His mother immediately pointed out that Bonnie Leigh is a doll.

Cousins insisted that baby was real and had mucus. McRobert alleged that Cousins said this because the baby can't be taken in for a DNA test if she is sick. "She is very smart," says McRobert who says she believed her friend. Cousins even sent McRobert photos of ultrasound scans.

Three days after the alleged birth, Cousins texted McRobert and told her she had to get out of the house. When McRobert picked up her friend, Cousins was careful to do everything herself. They drove to Cousins's work to show Bonnie Leigh to her coworkers. After that, they visited McRobert's mother, who also fell for the scam. Cousins was very believable and did things like show them the special underwear she had for the bleeding. While there, Cousins continued to complain about Jamie's family.

The truth came out after someone walked in on Cousins. McRobert wasn't sure if it was the young woman's mother or cousin, but they saw the doll while Cousins was on a phone call. In a subsequent TikTok, McRobert explained that it was difficult to tell Bonnie Leigh was actually a doll. "She doesn't need any sort of help," says McRobert. "She needs jail."