- In a new, emotional Instagram post, chef Katie Lee revealed she struggles with infertility.
- Katie also opened up about undergoing in-vitro fertilization (IVF), but it did not work.
- Katie, 37, says she’s still hopeful for for a family with husband, TV producer Ryan Biegel.
Once you get married, it seems like everyone starts asking when you’re planning to have kids. But, while the question is usually innocent (albeit annoying), it can be hard to handle when you’re struggling with infertility. Chef and Food Network star Katie Lee knows this firsthand.
Katie, 37, married TV producer Ryan Biegel last year, and she wrote in an emotional Instagram post that she gets asked when they’re having kids “multiple” times a day.
“I get comments saying I look like I’ve gained weight, so I must be pregnant. After one said that I looked ‘thick in the waist,” I finally responded that it’s not ok to comment on a woman’s body and you never know what someone is going through,” she wrote. “There is so much pressure on women to look a certain way and while most mean well with baby questions, it can be hurtful. Many of you sent me messages sharing your personal stories of fertility issues. You helped me, so now I want to share my story with you.”
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I get multiple messages a day asking me if I’m pregnant or why I am not pregnant yet. I get comments saying I look like I’ve gained weight, so I must be pregnant. After one said that I looked “thick in the waist” I finally responded that it’s not ok to comment on a woman’s body and you never know what someone is going through. There is so much pressure on women to look a certain way and while most mean well with baby questions, it can be hurtful. Many of you sent me messages sharing your personal stories of fertility issues. You helped me, so now I want to share my story with you. When Ryan and I got married, our plan was to start a family right away. I couldn’t wait to get pregnant! I naively thought it would be easy. I’m a healthy woman, I eat a balanced diet, exercise, I don’t smoke. Ryan is the same. But reproductive health is an entirely different ballgame. We were trying, I had to have surgery to correct a problem, got an infection, then I was so run down I got shingles. My doctor advised us to try iVF. We just finished the intense process only to get zero healthy embryos. Not only is iVF physically exhausting, the emotional toll is unparalleled. We were filled with hope and excitement only to be crushed. It is really hard to put on a happy face. Fertility issues are supposed to be private so many of us are silently in pain. I hesitated to share this but I feel comfort when I hear others’ stories and I hope any of you in a similar situation know you are not alone. When people ask me when I’m getting pregnant, it hurts. It’s just a reminder that I’m not. When they say I look like I’ve gained weight, I have. I can’t exercise as much and the hormones have made me bloated. At church on Easter, the priest started his sermon with a story about a family struggling to have a baby and the happiness they are now experiencing that their prayers have been answered. He said it is a time of new beginnings. Tears streamed down my face. I know a family will happen for us, it is just going to be a different journey than we imagined. We will keep working towards it. Someday we will have our happy new beginning and I pray any of you experiencing the same will have yours too.
A post shared by Katie Lee (@katieleekitchen) on
Katie said that she and Ryan planned to start a family “right away” after they got married. “I couldn’t wait to get pregnant! I naively thought it would be easy,” she wrote. “I’m a healthy woman, I eat a balanced diet, exercise, I don’t smoke. Ryan is the same. But reproductive health is an entirely different ballgame.”
Katie said they started trying to conceive, she had to have surgery “to correct a problem,” she got an infection, and then go so “run down” that she developed the shingles. Then, her doctor recommended that they try in-vitro fertilization (IVF), but it didn’t work.
“We just finished the intense process only to get zero healthy embryos,” she said. “Not only is IVF physically exhausting, the emotional toll is unparalleled.” Katie said that she and her husband “were filled with hope and excitement only to be crushed.”
“It is really hard to put on a happy face,” she continued. “Fertility issues are supposed to be private so many of us are silently in pain. I hesitated to share this but I feel comfort when I hear others’ stories and I hope any of you in a similar situation know you are not alone. When people ask me when I’m getting pregnant, it hurts. It’s just a reminder that I’m not. When they say I look like I’ve gained weight, I have. I can’t exercise as much and the hormones have made me bloated.”
While the journey to starting a family has been rocky, Katie says she’s hopeful for the future. “I know a family will happen for us, it is just going to be a different journey than we imagined,” she said. “We will keep working towards it. Someday we will have our happy new beginning and I pray any of you experiencing the same will have yours too.”
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