In her new book, We’re Going to Need More Wine, Gabrielle Union discloses her painful experiences with infertility. In an excerpt from the book shared with People magazine, the star of BET’s Being Mary Jane says that she’s had “eight or nine miscarriages.”
“For three years, my body has been a prisoner of trying to get pregnant,” Union writes in her book. “I’ve either been about to go into an IVF cycle, in the middle of an IVF cycle, or coming out of an IVF cycle.”
The 44-year-old actress said that she wanted to be frank about her fertility issues because she hopes to change the way people broach the topic. Union says that she is constantly being asked about whether she wants to start a family—and not just from the media.
From People:
“For so many women, and not just women in the spotlight, people feel very entitled to know, ‘Do you want kids?’ A lot of people, especially people that have fertility issues, just say ‘no’ because that’s a lot easier than being honest about whatever is actually going on. People mean so well, but they have no idea the harm or frustration it can cause.”
As the Washington Post reports, 1 in 5 pregnancies result in a miscarriage. However, despite being common, the issue is still difficult for women and families to talk about.
Still, Union is hopeful that she and husband Dwyane Wade will one day bring a child into the world. Union writes that they “remain bursting with love and ready to do anything to meet the child we’ve both dreamed of.”