Sophie Monk has been open about her deep desire to become a mum, but starting a family hasn’t been simple for the 41-year-old.
From battling endometriosis, to freezing her eggs and finding love, the new Beauty And The Geek host has faced plenty of obstacles.
Now the Aussie TV icon is engaged to be married, and hopes are high that kids are just around the corner for her.
We’re taking a look back at her long road to motherhood, and what the future has in store on her quest for kids.
Sophie Monk and Joshua Gross announced their engagement in January.
(Credit: Instagram)What has Sophie Monk said about having kids?
Former Bardot singer Sophie Monk has spoken several times about her dream to become a mum.
Way back in 2014 Sophie told 9Honey Celebrity that kids were definitely on her mind, but she wanted to do parenthood with a partner.
“I don’t know if I’d have it on my own because I don’t want a baby just for the sake of it,” she said at the time.
“I’d rather do it for the right reasons. So if it happens, it happens, if it doesn’t it doesn’t either — because I’ve got all my nieces and nephews and I love them.”
By 2017 she had changed her tune, following her stint as The Bachelorette, which ended in her choosing Stu Laundy as her winner.
He had undergone a vasectomy before they met on the show, but Sophie said there were still options for them to have children.
“(The vasectomy) doesn’t really matter because it can be reversed pretty quickly or regardless I could go freeze my eggs and chuck them over to wherever he’s got his sperm banked,” she told News.com.au at the time.
Sadly, the couple split just months after The Bachelorette ended, putting a stop to any of Sophie’s immediate plans to have kids.
By 2018 she had announced her plans to freeze her eggs, to ensure she’d be able to have children down the line.
That same year she met Joshua Gross on an international flight and sparks flew, with the two quickly becoming an item.
And in 2019 she told TV Week: “I thought I’d have four children and be married [by now].
“I thought I’d be in this industry for a little bit and then get out and having a normal life, where I’d pick up the kids from school. But I’ve realised that’s not going to happen.”
But now she and Gross are engaged, and fans are hopeful Sophie will soon make her dream of motherhood a reality.
Sophie Monk’s endometriosis battle
Sophie was diagnosed with endometriosis in 2018, a disease that can cause crippling pain an even infertility.
The illness causes uterine tissue to grow outside the uterus and can have severe, long-lasting health implications for the one in nine women it affects.
Sophie Monk faced several setbacks in her quest for children, including an endometriosis diagnosis.
(Credit: Instagram)Sophie, like many women, didn’t receive her diagnosis until she had already been battling symptoms of endometriosis for years – 26 years, to be precise.
“So many women live not knowing they have endometriosis,” she wrote on Instagram at the time of her diagnosis.
The intense pain associated with the disease had seen Sophie hospitalised countless times in more than two and a half decades before she was finally diagnosed.
It was only when she went to freeze her eggs that the condition was discovered, and Sophie underwent surgery soon after to treat it.
Sophie told Body + Soul in 2019 that she was actually “relieved” when her doctors told her she had endometriosis.
“I didn’t know what was wrong, so I’d started to think that everyone was judging me,” she said.
“I’m lucky that I had a mild case and that my doctor was able to take it all out, but now I know it’s so important to get checked out.”
Why did Sophie Monk freeze her eggs?
Sophie wasn’t aware she had endometriosis when she went to Monash IVF hoping to freeze her eggs in 2018 as a “preventative” measure.
Having been open about her desire to be a mum, Sophie – who was 38-years-old when she first shared the egg freezing process – wanted to make sure she could make that dream a reality.
“For anyone thinking about freezing their eggs, like me, for preventative or maybe for medical reasons, I’ve got to say I had no side effects whatsoever,” she said in an Instagram video at the time.
She elaborated in later interviews that she decided to freeze her eggs in a bid to prevent any trouble conceiving down the track.
“It’s just peace of mind me knowing it’s there, it’s taken enormous pressure off me,” Sophie said during a webinar with Monash IVF in October last year.
A woman’s fertility generally begins to reduce when they hit their thirties, gradually declining as they hit 35 and then enter their 40s.
Freezing eggs while still highly fertile can help women conceive later, when their fertility rates may not be as high naturally.
Engagement, marriage, baby?
Sophie Monk with her finacé Joshua Gross.
(Credit: Instagram)In January 2021 Sophie announced that Joshua Gross had finally popped the question and they were officially engaged.
Coronavirus lockdowns forced the couple to celebrate their happy news with an isolated engagement party at their home, but Sophie didn’t seem to mind.
There’s no news yet on when the pair plan to say “I do”, nor have they shared specific details about their plans for a family.
But with Sophie having already put so much work into her quest for kids, we’re sure she’s well prepared to take on the role of “mum” soon.
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