Lisa Riley has opened up about her IVF heartbreak, as she was told by doctors attempts at having a baby would likely result in failure.
Speaking to the Mirror, the former Emmerdale star - who surprised fans with her incredible weight loss - explained how she was told by doctors that any IVF treatment would most likely fail.
As a result, the 41-year-old revealed that she and her partner Al have decided not to pursue their dream of becoming parents, which she has now come to terms with.
She said: 'Finding out that I was unlikely to get pregnant was a blow. But I refuse to be defined by that. People think women need to have a child to complete themselves, but that just isn't the case.'
Lisa added that they decided they didn't want the stress and pressure of IVF treatments in their lives if it's likely to result in failure.
'I feel that I have taken ownership of the situation now. I have seen other people go through years and years of IVF treatment and the stress and pressure that creates', she told the publication.
'I don't want to do that. We have decided now that we aren't going to go down that route, and now that we have made that decision I could not be happier.'
The TV star had previously admitted that she was considering undergoing IVF in order to have a baby, after her 12 stone weight loss.
'There are a lot of reasons why I want to have a baby', she told You Magazine in March. 'Some are to do with the fact I've saved myself by losing weight, but also that I'm in love for the first time in my life and he would like to have a baby if we can.
'I don't just think about myself any more. If we were to have a child, that would be wonderful.'
However, she had previously said that she didn't want to have children naturally, after seeing her mum pass away from cancer.
'But for me, I don't want to put a child through the pain that I went through', she said, referring to the tragic loss of her mother, who passed away from cancer in 2012. 'Seeing the last three years of my mum, I couldn't do that to my child. So I've consciously made the decision that I'm not going to have a child naturally. I'm not.'
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