Home and Away's Christie Hayes reveals 'devastating' struggle

Former Home and Away star Christie Hayes has opened up about her ‘devastating’ IVF battle with her husband Justin Coombes-Pearce.

The radio host was discussing Victorian Premier Dan Andrews' decision to start a free, public IVF service in Victoria.

Speaking candidly on her radio show Hit100.9’s Dan and Christie, the former actress revealed how difficult it has been going through IVF with Justin.

“The struggle was for us…was the money. It is so expensive,” she told co-host Dan Taylor. “We started our first round of IVF when we didn’t really have any money. We were on one income at the time with IVF.”

“You just go in there with an open mind, you obviously are prepared to give every single cent you have. But I mean, it’s like God, there’s only so much you can do,” she explained.

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The Neighbours actress added that people with fertility issues could have specific timeframes they may need to meet, to give them the best chance of conceiving.

“If you spend too long trying to save up, you might lose your window. It’s a really costly, precise thing with IVF and it’s so hard, emotionally,” she said.

The actress is based in Hobart, which doesn’t currently offer free IVF for those struggling with fertility.

Christie said that her first round of IVF with Justin wasn’t successful, which was a huge blow.

“Justin and I were both devastated,” she admitted. “We’d done everything, we paid for the egg retrieval and we’d done all the stuff that was required, didn’t work.

“And we were lost, you know, but then we thought, look, we’ve got to do it again.”

The Blue Water High star hopes that Victoria’s move to provide free IVF for residents will help shine a spotlight on the issue in other states.

Christie currently has two sons with her ex-husband Daniel White, but is hoping to have children with her third husband Justin.

She shot to fame as Kirsty Sutherland on Home and Away, starting the role at age 13. She played the character from 2000 to 2005 and returned to Summer Bay from 2008 to 2009.

Christie’s character was popular with viewers and the star admits that she would consider coming back for a stint.

“If the opportunity came up, I definitely wouldn’t say no,” she told Digital Spy. “I have a lot that I’d like to do in my career. I’d really like to do comedy, that would be something I’d like to focus on over the next couple of years.

“But yes I definitely would. If they wanted me to, absolutely.”

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