Speaking her truth. Lauren Conrad is revealing her own difficult fertility journey with husband William Tell following the overturn of Roe v. Wade.
“The last few days have been hard. I’ve been searching for the right words, and reposting someone else’s didn’t feel quite right,” Conrad, 36, wrote via her Instagram Story on Tuesday, June 28. “I wanted to share my own experience with lifesaving reproductive care. Six years ago, while trying to start our family, I had an ectopic pregnancy.”
An ectopic pregnancy, which “occurs when a fertilized egg implants and grows outside the main cavity of the uterus,” can become life-threatening to the mother if left untreated, according to the Mayo Clinic.
The Laguna Beach alum shared that thanks to “prompt medical doctors,” her Fallopian tubes were saved so she and Tell, 42, could have “two healthy pregnancies.” (The couple share sons Liam James, 4, and Charlie, 2.)
The California native’s comments come following the Supreme Court’s 6-3 ruling to overturn Roe v. Wade, which eliminated the constitutional right to abortion and turned the power back to the state legislature.
“Yesterday I read about a woman with this same condition having her ectopic pregnancy rupture — and facing death — while waiting for treatment because her doctor was on the phone with his lawyer out of fear of losing his medical license, (for using a D&C as a tool to help establish the diagnosis of an ectopic pregnancy),” Conrad wrote about what inspired her to take to social media with her own story. “This is heartbreaking.”
While the fashion designer admitted that “talking about abortion is hard” and “divides us,” she highlighted the importance of people talking and listening “to each other in a respectful way, especially when we disagree,” adding, “I hope someday we will be in a place where every woman has access to the healthcare she needs and the freedom to decide what happens in her own body.”
The Hills star concluded her post by acknowledging that “many women in my life have had their own experiences with abortion” and that “I am so grateful that in each case they were able to safely receive the healthcare they needed and were free to make their own decisions.”
Conrad exclusively told Us Weekly on Wednesday that while she and Tell have “two wonderful children,” they are “at capacity” and too exhausted to consider expanding their family in the future.
“We’re so tired. That’s OK,” she revealed. “I think that you just have to work at it after kids come along. Obviously, there’s just so much more on your plate, but I also think that you have, like, a new appreciation for each other. I knew Will would be a good father, but he’s an excellent father. So I appreciate him so much more on that level.”
The couple, who tied the knot in 2014, initially met back when they were teenagers and the musician was on tour with his band Something Corporate.
“I met my husband when I was 16 and sitting on stage at one of his concerts,” Conrad told Us in 2015. “Ten years later, we were set up on a blind date.”