By Jazmine Polk
Gabrielle Union recently opened up about her heartbreaking struggle to have a baby with husband Dwyane Wade.
“I have had eight or nine miscarriages,” the actress writes in an exclusive People excerpt of her new book, We’re Going To Need More Wine. “For three years, my body has been a prisoner of trying to get pregnant — 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.”
According to the March of Dimes, 10 percent to 15 percent of known pregnancies end in miscarriage, and women who have had a prior miscarriage or are over 35 are at greater risk. In a previous interview with Health, Joshua Klein, MD, a reproductive endocrinologist and fertility specialist at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, explained that the actual rate of pregnancy loss is likely around 25 percent or 30 percent, since some women in early stages of pregnancy may mistake a miscarriage for a heavier-than-normal period.
Union’s honest comments are a reminder that miscarriages can affect anyone, but this isn’t the first time an A-lister has opened up about a pregnancy loss. Here, 14 more celebrities who have spoken out about the pain and heartbreak of having a miscarriage.
Beyonce
“There are so many couples that go through that and it was a big part of my story. It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever been through. It’s one of the reasons I did not share I was pregnant the second time, because you don’t know what’s going to happen …. It was hard.” — on OWN, 2013
Giuliana Rancic
“I said, ‘I’m not doing this again. I can’t.’ I was angry at life and at God. Hopefully we can help people understand that there’s nothing to be ashamed of. It’s such a taboo subject, but it’s a very common problem.” — to People, 2010
Gwyneth Paltrow
“My children ask me to have a baby all the time. And you never know, I could squeeze one more in. I am missing my third. I’m thinking about it. But I had a really bad experience when I was pregnant with my third. It didn’t work out and I nearly died. So I am like, ‘Are we good here or should we go back and try again?’” — to The Mail on Sunday You, 2013
Lindsay Lohan
“No one knows this, I had a miscarriage for the two weeks that I took off. It’s a very long story. On the show when it says, ‘She doesn’t want to come down. She doesn’t want to come down,’ I couldn’t move. I was sick. And mentally that messes with you.” — on OWN, 2013
Nicole Kidman
“From the minute Tom and I were married, I wanted to have babies and we lost a baby early on, so that was really very traumatic.” — to Vanity Fair, 2007
Nancy Flannigan
“The first time that you go in and they tell you, ‘Oh there’s no heartbeat,’ it’s devastating. I felt like a failure.” — to People, 2017
Wendy Williams
“I suffered several miscarriages, including two at five months. That’s when you have the clothes already picked out, the nursery is already painted. They ask you do you want a funeral or do you want the cremation. We went through that not once but twice, me and my husband.” — PBS, 2015
Celine Dion
“It’s life, you know? A lot of people go through this. We tried four times to have a child. We’re still trying. We’re on the fifth try, and I’ll tell you, if five is my lucky number, this fifth try has got to come in.” — on Oprah, 2009
Barbara Walters
“I had had several miscarriages. And when I did, they were never reported. And I would take a couple of days off then, and go back to work.” — NBC News, 2013
Whitney Houston
“It was very painful, emotionally and physically. I was back on the set the next day. And it’s over. But I had Bobbi Kristina one year later, and I am blessed.” — on Barbara Walters, 1993
Joan Rivers
“After Missy, I had two miscarriages and a tubular pregnancy. Not having more [children] is my only regret in life.” — to People, 1993
Bethenny Frankel
“I started bleeding. Really bleeding. Jason picked me up, and we went to the doctor. In the exam room the doctor ran an ultrasound, looking for the heartbeat. Something was wrong. ‘I’m not finding it,’ he said. Jason said, ‘I don’t see it.’ And I’m like, ‘Is this a miscarriage?’ I didn’t know.” — to Glamour, 2012
Mariah Carey
“It kind of shook us both and took us into a place that was really dark and difficult. When that happened… I wasn’t able to even talk to anybody about it. That was not easy.” — on Access Hollywood, 2010
Brooke Shields
“We were crushed. Up till then, I thought simply because it was time and I wanted to have a baby, it would work out. Maybe I’ll never know why it happened. But it made me understand the difference between wanting to have a baby and truly wanting to be a mother.” — to People, 2003
“15 Celebrities on What It’s Like to Have a Miscarriage” originally appeared on Health.com
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