Causes & Treatment
Celebrity Infertility Stories – 10 Inspiring Stories from Celebrities Who Have Struggled to Conceive
Eloise Edington | 13 Aug 2020
Photo Credit – Shutterstock.com
The conversation around infertility is growing, and it’s all thanks to those who are adding their personal, inspiring stories to the mix. Here are some of our favourite celebrity infertility stories that have inspired hope among those TTC (trying to conceive) and normalised the topic at large. Of course let’s not forget that celebrities don’t have the added pressure of watching the pennies and worrying about financing fertility treatment, but it doesn’t mean their feelings aren’t similar to what we experience.
Words by Sophie Braybrook
Kristen Wiig on Succumbing to Surrogacy
In January, actor Kristen Wiig, 47, and her fiancé Avi Rothman, 42, welcomed twins via surrogacy.
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Kristen’s generally a private person – avoiding the press and social media, as well as being successful when it comes to keeping significant life events (like her engagement and arrival of her babies) from immediately becoming public knowledge.
Kristen Wiig and fiancé Avi Rothman step out with their twins https://t.co/FBGkJccQcl pic.twitter.com/uuF0Lg9J68
— Page Six (@PageSix) June 18, 2020
Despite her private nature, the actor has chosen to share her personal infertility story, telling InStyle, “As private as I am and as sacred as this all is, what helped me was reading about other women… and talking to those who have gone through IVF and fertility stuff.
“It [IVF] can be the most isolating experience. But I’m trying to find that space where I can keep my privacy and also be there for someone else who may be going through it.”
Kristen described the last three years of her relationship with Avi as an “IVF haze. Emotionally, spiritually, and medically, it was probably the most difficult time in my life. I wasn’t myself.”
The actor explained her relationship worries, her adamance that she would carry her babies, succumbing to surrogacy, finding “the most amazing surrogate” and more. Hearing honest celebrity infertility stories like Kristen’s really help unite those TTC!
Emma Thompson’s Celebrity Infertility Story
After using IVF for her daughter, Gaia, who was born in 1999, actor Emma Thompson, 61, and her husband Greg Wise, 54, had several failed IVF attempts when TTC again.
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In 2003 – post-IVF heartache – Emma and Greg adopted their second child, Tindyebwa Agaba Wise, a refugee and former child soldier from Rwanda, when he was 16 years old.
When speaking of IVF in a 2014 interview, Greg told the Daily Mail, “It’s a brutal process and it’s very emotional. In 2010, The Telegraph reported that Emma told a magazine that “For years I counted people’s children in the street and thought I’d never recover. But you do, of course.”
Chrissy Teigen’s Infertility Story
In a 2015 interview with Tyra Banks for FABLife, model Chrissy Teigen, 34, asked that people stop questioning women, “‘So, when are the kids coming?’ Because who knows what somebody’s going through?”
Read More: Miscarriages, Loss and Ridiculous Comments
After struggling to conceive for several years, in October 2015, Chrissy announced to her Instagram followers that she and her husband John Legend, 41, were having their first baby:
“As many of you know, we’ve been trying to have a baby for a while now. It hasn’t been easy, but we kept trying because we can’t wait to bring our first child into the world and grow our family. We’re so excited that it’s finally happening.”
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Chrissy Teigen conceived both her children – Luna and Miles – through IVF and has been extremely open with her story – vagina steamer and all!
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In another Instagram post, Chrissy introduced her second baby, Miles, to her followers. In the comments section, followers criticised another follower for asking whether Miles was conceived via IVF, but Chrissy defended the question, replying: “I wasn’t offended by it. People are just curious and I think hearing success stories gives people hope. I’m all for talking about IVF”.
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And we’re so glad because Chrissy’s is easily one of our favourite celebrity infertility stories!
Chrissy has detailed her IVF trauma in an interview with The Cut: “You hear stories about IVF working the first try. But you’ll hear a lot more stories about when it takes a few times. Ours didn’t work the first time, and it was devastating…
“When it didn’t work, I remember thinking, Oh, I was on my feet too much, and that’s why. You just look for anything to blame, especially yourself. I think hearing stories is just really important. You realize there’s no right way to do it, or right way to react.”
Tyra Banks’s Surrogacy
During her interview with Chrissy, TV personality, entrepreneur and former supermodel Tyra Banks, 46, followed Chrissy’s comments by speaking out about her own infertility struggle.
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In 2015, Tyra told PEOPLE that she continuously put off having children because her “Business is very entrepreneurial. I’m not for hire, so I have to do everything.”
“When I turned 40, the one thing I was not happy about is that I did not have kids,” Tyra continued. “I’m like, ‘Damn, the clock is ticking!’”
After years of trying and seven failed cycles of IVF, Tyra conceived her son, York, via surrogacy, in January 2016.
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Cameron Diaz
It’s thought that actor Cameron Diaz, 47, and Good Charlotte musician Benji Madden, 41, tried IVF, acupuncture and supplements and finally used a surrogate to have their baby in December of last year.
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Cameron took to Instagram in early January to announce baby Raddix’s birth, alongside a statement explaining she and Benji “Feel a strong instinct to protect our little one’s privacy” and so “won’t be posting pictures or sharing any details, other than that she is really really cute”.
Little is known about how the couple conceived, but a source told US Weekly that they’d been trying for a baby for five years, since marrying in 2015.
Jaime King Infertility Story
After five miscarriages, five rounds of IVF and 26 rounds of IUI, Model and actor Jaime King, 41, conceived her first child, James, naturally in 2013 and had Leo, her second child, in 2015.
Jaime, who has polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) and endometriosis, told PEOPLE in a 2015 interview that she hid her fertility battle for so long, but now she hears “about so many women going through what I went through. If I’m open about it,” King explained, “hopefully it won’t be so taboo to talk about it.”
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Kim Kardashian’s Infertility Story
Media personality Kim Kardashian, 39, suffers from a high-risk pregnancy complication – placenta accreta, which is when the placenta attaches deep into the uterine wall, making it hard to remove during birth.
In a candid blog post on her website (which has since been taken down), Kim recalled the way the placenta was removed after giving birth to her first child, North. “My doctor had to stick his entire arm in me and detach the placenta with his hand,” the celebrity wrote, “scraping it away from my uterus with his fingernails.
“My mom was crying, she had never seen anything like this before… It was the most painful experience of my life.”
Kim had her first two children naturally, but she told C Magazine (for their September 2015 issue) that it “was a long road” to become pregnant with her second child, Saint, after complications from the condition. When giving birth to Saint, Kim experienced the same painful sequence, which led the couple to seek surrogates for their third and fourth children.
During a 2018 episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians, Kim recalled fears she had regarding connecting with her third child Chicago, who was to be born via surrogacy.
Kim feared she wouldn’t connect with Chicago in the same way she had with her other children but went on to say that “It was the same exact feeling”.
“There was no weird feeling that I was so nervous about,” Kim went on to say. “That was instantly a relief for me… I just feel lucky that I’ve had such a good experience with surrogacy.”
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Sarah Jessica Parker’s Surrogacy
In 2009, Sarah Jessica Parker, 55, and her husband Matthew Broderick, 58, announced they were expecting twins via surrogate. The couple already had a son but found it difficult to fall pregnant again.
After the birth of her first child, actor Sarah Jessica Parker and her husband Matthew Broderick struggled to become pregnant again. In 2009, the pair announced that they were expecting twins via surrogate.
Before settling on surrogacy, Parker told Access Hollywood that she and Matthew had “been trying to expand our family for a number of years and we actually have explored a variety of ways of doing so.”
The pair recently celebrated 23 years together with this adorable Instagram post:
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Brooke Shields’s IVF Story
Actor Brooke Shields, 55, had surgery on her cervix to remove pre-cancerous cells which made it difficult for her to become pregnant.
Brooke shared the emotions she experienced when TTC in her memoir Down Came the Rain. “Everyone around me was getting pregnant,” Brooke wrote. “I was starting to feel bitter.
“What starts out as a dream becomes a project that’s all-consuming – everywhere you look, women are pregnant, and every song on the radio seems like it’s all about being pregnant! It becomes a very frustrating, frightening place.”
The actor tried artificial insemination, IVF and had a miscarriage before giving birth to her daughter Rowan in 2003 and her second daughter Grier in 2006.
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Anne Hathaway’s Pregnancy
When pregnant with her second baby, Actor Anne Hathaway, 37, took the opportunity to share her infertility story with her followers. “For everyone going through infertility and conception hell,” Anne wrote, “please know it was not a straight line to either of my pregnancies.”
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When TTC, social media seems to be a sea of gender reveals and growing bumps. It’s important to follow accounts that resonate with you and the current phase of your journey and to avoid those that don’t. Fertility Help Hub’s Instagram is packed with expert advice, news and giveaways. Become a part of our new, free community to meet likeminded people.
