Ola and James Jordan open up about their two-year struggle to start a family
Dancing on Ice Star James Jordan, 40 and wife Ola, 36, have opened up about their two-year struggle to conceive and the pressure from people asking when they plan on starting a family.
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Professional dancers Ola, 36, and James Jordan, 40, who rose to fame on Strictly Come Dancing, have revealed they've been trying to conceive for more than two years, and how the constant questioning from others on when they plan to start a family 'cuts like a knife'.
The couple, who've been married for 15 years, say they're ‘desperate’ to become parents.
In an interview with Hello! Magazine Ola said: ‘I would love to be a mum with all my heart and I just thought it would happen naturally.'
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The star went on to explain how James is also 'desperate to have babies'.
'That’s the one gift I would love to give him,' Ola said.
'I guess I just thought, like most women, that I could choose when the time was right for me; that I could have my career and then have a baby when it felt right.
'But for us it just hasn’t happened like that.’
Her husband James said: ‘The irony is that for 17 years during our career we tried not to have children because dancing is not a career that easily fits in with family life.
‘When we finally did try, it was a sting to realise we couldn’t conceive straight away.’
The pair decided to speak out after because they were constantly being asked when they were going to have children.
‘Ideally you want to tell the story in the past tense with a bouncing baby in your arms,’ Ola said. ‘But I felt I had to speak now because in every interview we get asked when we are going to have a baby and it gets harder to keep trying to avoid the question and brush it off.
'It’s got to the point where it’s become upsetting, so we want to tell our story so it’s in the open.’
James said: 'We know when people ask us about it, that it’s coming from a good place, and we understand people want us to have baby Jordans but each time we get asked about it, it cuts like a knife.'
Ola and James, who is now a professional skater on Dancing On Ice, are now planning to undergo in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment to try and conceive.
‘After consultations we’ve realised we are one of the lucky ones and that, with help, hopefully one day we can realise our baby dreams,’ James said.
The pair shared a photo from the interview on their Instagram accounts yesterday, and in the caption they said speaking about their conception struggles was the most difficult interview they had ever done.
Celebrity friends left supportive comments on the couple's Instagram post:
'You guys will be the world's best parents! God only sends trials to those strong enough to overcome them! It is only a matter of when not if, I truly believe that! Love you two! ❤️❤️❤️,' Union J's Jaymi Hensley
'❤️,' Nicola Mclean
'💗💕💕💗💕🤗🤗🤗 U guys x,' Michelle Heaton
And fans were also keen to praise the couple for speaking out:
‘Good luck to both of you! 🤞 My little IVF miracle is 3weeks old. Fertility issues need to be talked about more, thank you for opening up about your struggles,' @littlemissjellyray
‘Thankyou for sharing your story, infertility is so cruel and common unfortunately. Please dont give up hope - we tried for over two years, went through IVF and now we have our beautiful baby girl! Sending you lots of luck xxxx,’ @debs2401
'Best of luck. We went through the same and were lucky enough to have a gorgeous little girl eight years ago. I hope it works for you ❤️,' @aannabelle1
However difficult the experience may be for them, they also say it has made them closer.
Ola said: ‘We are a very close couple and always have been, but going through this has made us stronger than ever.’
Have you had IVF? How did it affect your relationship? Tell us about your experience in our forum thread, below.
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