Single mum who collects reborn dolls for ‘comfort’ loves the fact they ‘never grow up’ as her son becomes a toddler

A single mother who started collecting reborn dolls after her son turned 17 months old loves that they “never grow up” as she will “always have a baby to cuddle”.

Hannah Gorman, 25, from Hambleton, Lancashire, purchased her first lifelike doll when she was 14 but soon “grew out of it” and did not start collecting them again until earlier this year after she came across videos on social media.

Worried others would judge her, the full-time mother said she was inspired by TikTok creators speaking openly about their dolls online to expand her own collection and she now has seven reborn dolls, the majority of which are purchased second-hand from Vinted or eBay for “good deals”.

Hannah, who was diagnosed with dyspraxia, a common disorder that affects movement and co-ordination, when she was 15 and autism when she was 23, feels the dolls have boosted her confidence as a young mother, especially when taking her son, 23-month-old Koa, on public transport in his pram.

Her dolls are mainly used for display purposes but, on occasion, Hannah will change their outfits, fake-feed them and when her son was unwell in hospital with seizures, she placed a doll in his cot for “comfort”.

Despite some people thinking her dolls are “creepy”, Hannah hopes to become a reborn doll artist in the future and said she would rather keep her dolls than date someone who does not “accept them”.

“I’ll always have these little babies to hold and cuddle and dress up,” Hannah told PA Real Life.

“The dolls mean a lot to me, they’re comfort, they’re therapy.

“I know my son is only 23 months old but I never thought it would be so emotional watching him grow up.

“He needs me less and less now he’s a toddler, soon he’ll be a child, then he’ll fly the nest – obviously we’re far away from that, but what I love about the reborns is they never grow up.”

Hannah remembers getting her first lifelike doll when she was 14.

“I was scared of being bullied but eventually I got a doll – it wasn’t exactly a reborn but it was a very lifelike doll,” she said.

“I loved it but I couldn’t really grow an attachment to it, and I eventually grew out of it.”

She was diagnosed with dyspraxia a year later and autism at age 23, and she feels they impacted her confidence and self-esteem, but says this has later been improved by her reborn doll collection.

“With my autism, I like things to be in a certain routine and I struggle to make friends sometimes because I don’t know how to approach and talk to people,” she said.

“I also get hyper-fixated on things, which for me is now collecting reborns – I love them but it’s also a hyper-fixation.”

She added: “Dyspraxia is more like hand-eye co-ordination and I can sometimes be forgetful.

“This affected my confidence and self-esteem, especially in school because naturally my muscles are a little bit weaker.”

It was not until earlier this year that Hannah rekindled her passion for reborn dolls after coming across videos about them on social media.

While initially hesitant, she said a popular British TikTok creator, RebornsofJess, whose profile focuses on reborn dolls, motivated her to start collecting.

“It inspired me to buy my first one in years as I thought to myself that she’s a grown woman just like I am and she has reborns,” Hannah said.

The first doll she purchased cost £600, the second was £95 and the third was £425.

She has now built up her collection to feature seven reborn dolls, the majority of which are purchased second-hand on Vinted or eBay to allow her to hunt for a bargain.

“If I can find a good deal I’ll snap it up, especially being a single mum,” she said.

“The prices vary and I’ve never spent more than £1,000 on a reborn, even though some of them can sell for thousands of pounds.

“There’s something special about collecting second-hand ones as I feel like I’m an adoptive mummy giving these babies homes – and it’s cheaper.”

While Hannah’s dolls are mostly used for display, she will interact with them on occasion to provide her with “comfort” and to help improve her confidence when taking her son on public transport.

“I pick them up and hold them, I’ve taken them out in public a few times,” she said.

“I was nervous about going on the bus with my son and making journeys, I’m not really keen on public transport, but a few times I’ve taken a reborn out in the pram first just to help me get used to it.

“It’s helped me become more confident taking Koa on public transport.”

Hannah said her son has been taken to hospital with seizures on three separate occasions, the last being in August this year – on the occasion she was not with him, she would place a reborn doll in his cot to comfort her.

“That really helped because when I looked over, it was like there was a baby there rather than it being empty,” she said.

“It was a very comforting thing for me to do that.”

Hannah added she will sometimes “fake-feed” her dolls.

“I’ve got this milk powder which I sometimes make a bottle with,” she said, stressing that it is not real baby formula.

“Now my son drinks out of juice cups, I don’t feed him bottles any more, so it’s like a role-playing comfort thing.”

She added: “I usually only get the dolls out when my son is at nursery or in bed because otherwise I’m with him.”

On how others may view her hobby, Hannah said people should not judge her or others who collect them.

“I think when it comes to reborns, some pounce on people for collecting them as if it’s really controversial – there’s worse things I could be doing with my life than collecting dolls,” she said.

“I get mixed reactions from people, some people think they are amazing, others think they are creepy.

“That’s fine with me and not everyone has to like my hobby.”

Hannah said she will continue expanding her collection and she hopes to become a reborn doll artist in future.

“I’d like to become a reborn doll artist but I haven’t got the time or money to do it at the moment,” she said.

“I’m not dating at the moment but if I started dating someone and they wanted me to get rid of my reborns, I’d say no and ask them to accept me for who I am.

“I’d rather keep my reborns than date – until I find the right person, that is.”