Francesca Farago and Jesse Sullivan say their ‘hearts are heavy’ in IVF update
The pair have been going through IVF. (Getty)
Francesca Farago and Jesse Sullivan say their “hearts are heavy” in an update to their IVF journey.
The Too Hot To Handle star and Sullivan, who is transgender, took to Instagram on 25 February to announce that they would soon be starting a second embryo transfer. “I cannot believe that we’re doing this again,” she told viewers at the time.
The pair have been going through in vitro fertilisation together in the hopes of growing their family before they tie the knot.
Despite moving to the next stage of the process, which saw them choose which embryo they were going to have implanted in their upcoming transfer, they said they felt it was “hard to get excited after our first transfer failed”.
“Choosing the embryo made it feel so much more real,” Farago said in an 18 March TikTok update. “We are absolutely terrified for this transfer.
“Our hearts are heavy and it’s hard to stay positive especially with all the hormones I’m on,” she added.
“We’re fortunate to have so many embryos but every loss feels like this little life slipped from our fingers.
“We hope more than anything this one is the one,” she concluded.
The couple — who have recently been sporting what appears to be wedding rings despite their nuptial hiatus — has been sharing their fertility journey on social media. The couple agreed to put their wedding plans on the back burner to focus on their IVF journey, as having children together is an important part of their relationship milestones, they revealed.
They previously explained that they opted for a medicated cycle for their second round, after undergoing the same during their first round. This is where someone undergoing IVF will be prescribed estrogen and progesterone medications to optimise the uterine lining for pregnancy, according to Alife Health.
Following their medicated cycle, the pair will undergo an embryo transfer, the final step in the IVF process. This is where the embryo is transferred into the uterus, where, hopefully, a healthy pregnancy develops.
Farago and Sullivan previously told fans on 13 February that their embryo transfer failed — meaning that the influencer did not fall pregnant. “Hopefully next time is our time,” she said on Instagram at the time.
“Our embryo transfer failed,” Farago began in an emotional video. “I had picked the embryo and was going to surprise my fiancé with the sex,” she explained, opening up a package with a T-shirt for Sullivan’s 15-year-old child, Arlo. The T-shirt read: “Embryo 13WF 4AA,” which relates to the grading of the embryo which was implanted. The bandana for their dog read “XX”, indicating that the biological sex of their embryo would have been a girl.
“I ended up telling him the embryo I chose when we learned it failed,” the text on the video continued. “Getting these in the mail was a lot harder than I expected. Even though there was never a pregnancy [we’re] still mourning that one baby girl embryo we lost.”
We’re wishing Farago and Sullivan the best of luck with their second embryo transfer.
If this story has affected you, call Resolve, the National Infertility Association in the US on 866 668 2566 for a callback, or in Australia call ajfn.org.au in complete confidence on 02 7906 8366 (Sydney) or 03 8840 6560 (Melbourne).
