Julia Bradbury said she had to hide her IVF struggles away from the public while a presenter on Countryfile. The host detailed how ahead of successfully having her twin daughters through the procedure, she struggled with the gruelling process and juggling her broadcasting career at the time.
Reflecting on a particular moment, Julia, 53, said working in Scotland at the time had been “horribly stressful” and believes this contributed to her IVF not being a success. After scaling back on her workload, she took a relaxing five-week break and then found out she was pregnant.
“I remember the day so vividly and obviously I cried. I was really holding onto this as something that had to be,” she recalled of the moment. Discussing the journey further on the Spinning Plates podcast with Sophie Ellis-Bextor, the host was quizzed about why she didn’t go public with the “emotional rollercoaster” at the time.
Julia shared: “I couldn’t be public about the IVF when I was going through it, because of my work. It would’ve influenced the people and the broadcasters and the production companies that I work with.
“So, it had to be private for that reason but when I could, I was open about the fact that the girls were IVF babies.” Julia’s twins Xanthe and Zena, now eight, came into the world three years after her son Zephyr, now 12, was born.
She said of wanting more children: “After Zeth, we were desperate for him to have a sibling, we didn’t want him to be on his own esecially with being older parents and all the rest. So that urge was almost stronger than to have a child in the first place.”
Julia believed she would never be a parent due to having Endometriosis. As stated by the NHS, it is a long-term condition where tissue similar to the lining of the womb grows in other place, such as the ovaries and fallopian tubes.
Symptoms of the condition can include severe pain in the pelvis and can make it harder to get pregnant.
Julia initially believed she couldn’t have children due to her health diagnosis. Following his birth seven years later however, she told Hello! Magazine: “Because I didn’t think it was possible to have children, I feel incredibly blessed.”
Of her husband Gerard Cunningham also becoming a dad, she added: “He’s a very emotional, loving and incredible dad, He’s very hands on.” Julia quit Countryfile after five years back in 2014 and moved on to present a five-part series on ITV.
Source link
