Erin Andrews is opening up about fertility struggles.
The 43-year-old Fox Sports reporter revealed on her blog, The Real Deal with Erin Andrews, Wednesday that she is currently undergoing in vitro fertilization treatments to try to start a family with husband Jarret Stoll. She said trying to balance “sometimes working up to 14 hours a day” and setting aside time for IVF has been a “challenging” time.
“For those familiar, you know it’s a time-consuming and emotionally draining process,” she wrote. “This is my 7th one, and I’ve been going through these treatments since I was 35 years old.”
The sportscaster added that because of her age, her body is also “stacked against” her, making the process even more difficult.
“I have been trying to do IVF treatment for a while now, but sometimes it doesn’t go the way you want it,” she wrote, further explaining, “Every cycle is different in a woman’s body, so some months are better than others.”
Andrews also spoke on how she is forced between her career and wanting to have a child.
“I work in an industry where I think women feel the need to keep things like this quiet,” she wrote on her blog. “But no, there are so many other women who maybe put their careers on the back burner because they don’t want to miss out on any opportunities. It’s so common that people are starting families late and put so many other aspects of their lives on hold.”
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She said of her fellow IVF peers, “It’s a team that no one wants to be a part of. We’re all going through this and having a tough time. It can be so isolating, but in reality, we are all there together.”
Going through a seventh round of IFV has taken quite the toll on her.
“You feel bloated and hormonal for a week and a half,” she added. “You could go through this whole experience and get absolutely nothing out of it — that’s the crazy part. It’s a ton of money, it’s a ton of time, it’s a ton of mental and physical anguish. And more times than not, they’re unsuccessful.”
“Now that it’s my seventh time, something just hit me,” she said of her choice to be more outspoken, before concluding, “Why am I keeping this such a secret when this is just a part of our lives? Instead of feeling ashamed, we need to give ourselves more love.”
She and Stoll, 39, tied the knot in June 2017.
