Brittany Hockley bravely shares fertility admission: 'Very hard to speak about'

Brittany Hockley has bravely opened up about her fertility journey on her podcast Life Uncut with fellow former Bachelor star Laura Byrne.

The podcaster shared that she and her footballer boyfriend, Ben Siegrist, decided to freeze embryos last year, with Brittany telling listeners, "I didn't want to talk about it, because I was worried about the result. I didn't want everyone to know that I was going through it and then have to talk about the fact that it didn't work."

She added, "I feel like that was the best decision for me because something did go wrong."

Brittany shared that she had one embryo, which she "felt really good about", despite understanding one embryo doesn't necessarily mean it will result in a baby, with Laura explaining there's around a 45 per cent chance of an embryo resulting in a live birth.

RELATED:

• Brittany Hockley fires back after being slammed for 'girl language' comment: 'Having a laugh'

• Brittany Hockley's mortifying X-rated moment with boyfriend's family

• Laura Byrne's shock admission leaves Brittany Hockley gobsmacked

"I was over in Scotland, and I remember getting the call from the geneticists at my clinic, and they said, 'We're so sorry, your embryo has a really, really rare abnormality,' and essentially it's non-viable," she explained. "So even if it survived the pregnancy, it wouldn't survive life."

Brittany explained that in Australia, clinics won't allow you to go any further with an embryo like that, as they "know it's not going to go anywhere".

Brittany and Laura were clearly emotional during the discussion, with Brittany sharing that the call was "devastating".

"You go through so much, and you have all of science and you've paid so much money and your hormones have gone through everything and you have so much hope that you're going to get what you want and then you get nothing," Brittany shared. "And I was like, how did I just go through that? How did I just go through all of that, alone too, and get nothing?"

"I feel really guilty," she said, adding she also felt "broken" because her partner Ben wants children but wants her more, and she found it difficult to wrap her head around the fact that they didn't have one embryo that survived.

The pair did try again, with Ben flying into Sydney last December to be there for the collection, and they were luckier this time, getting three viable embryos.

Fans rally around Brittany

Fans shared their own fertility and IVF stories, with one Instagram user writing, "Sending you love. I can relate to your IVF journey, it can be full of highs and the lowest, darkest times also.

"Just please know that sometimes it can take several rounds to have one healthy baby. After several rounds, our lucky last embryo is now almost 4 years old. There is always hope and miracles."

"Beautiful that you and Ben have made the decision to freeze embryos, but I'm sorry to hear it's been hard," another said. "I had my first and only little one through IVF. I've recently gone through another round to try for a second but no embryos survived, only to fall pregnant the next month and miscarry. I guess just sharing so you also know there's so many of us out there who have fought/are fighting to be a mum."

"Thank you so much for sharing your journey Britt, as someone who just finished their first ever round of IVF - it helps us feel a lot less alone," a third added. "All the best with the next steps, we're warriors!"

"It's very vulnerable and brave to share your journey Britt, and so important to others in the same situation," someone else wrote. "Wishing for your miracle to bless you soon."

Never miss a thing. Sign up to Yahoo Lifestyle’s daily newsletter.

Or if you have a story idea, email us at lifestyle.tips@yahooinc.com.