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The Scots "mum" who scammed her friends and family into believing a doll was her newborn is set to host an Instagram live today. Kira Cousins is accused of deceiving her loved-ones into believing her plastic Reborn doll was her baby girl named Bonnie-Leigh Joyce after wearing a prosthetic bump and pretending to give birth. The 22-year-old from Airdrie has now told followers that she will "explain her actions" and "make apologies" on an Instagram live at 4pm. This comes after Kira claimed to have given birth alone to her "daughter", weighing 5lbs 4oz, earlier this month on October 10. Kira posted photos of baby scans and footage of her lush gender reveal party in the weeks leading up to the "birth". Alongside this, she uploaded videos of the "baby" kicking in her tummy, a series of pictures of newborn clothes and items loved ones bought, such as a £1,000 pram and a car seat. Before outrage unfolded, she even posted about hospital appointments and claimed ante-natal tests had picked up a heart defect in her baby. The "mum" was subsequently outed online as a "serial liar" after the baby's dad found out that what he thought was his six-day-old baby was actually a doll and Kira's mother found the prop in her bedroom. In screenshots of messages reported to have been sent by Kira shortly afterwards, she appears to tell the man, who she claimed was Bonnie-Leigh's dad, that their baby had died . Kira Cousins refused to comment when contacted by the Record. In a statement shared on TikTok, she wrote: "In my own words let's set this straight. I was in bed when my mother came into my room and found it to be a doll. "Prior to this, I had been keeping myself away from literally everyone. "The next thing I know, I was confronted by all the family. 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." In a video statement filmed on October 16, Pal Neave McRobert noted that those closest to Kira first became suspicious after no one had heard the "baby" cry and Kira refused to let anyone touch her as she claimed Bonnie-Leigh had recently visited Wishaw General Hospital for checks due to ill-health. 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.” Screenshots of Neave's conversations with Kira about Bonnie-Leigh were shared online, alongside others showing the doll in a series of now-deleted posts from the "new mum". Neave also spoke about how she met "baby" Bonnie-Leigh when she took her former friend and the doll to a supermarket. She continued: "I feel worse because I’m one of the few people to meet this "baby". "I feel totally used and drained. Everyone got conned by her." Neave's video had thousands of interactions with people sharing comments of horror and disgust. Reborn dolls , like the one used in the shocking scam, are designed to look like real-life babies and retail between £30 to £2000. Some versions of the dolls even make a crying sound and some have fake tears. Others even produce wet pee nappies. A friend of Kira's family, who asked not to be named, also told the 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." If you would like to speak to a reporter about this story , please contact our newsdesk on 0141 309 3251.
