BBC Strictly Come Dancing judge Anton Du Beke has opened up on his wife's battle with endometriosis and the couple's journey to have children
Strictly judge Anton Du Beke openly shared his wife's agonising battle with endometriosis and how it affected their journey to parenthood.
The BBC personality married his marketing executive spouse, Hannah Summers, in 2017, having initially met at Wentworth Golf Club in Surrey back in 2012. The pair welcomed twins George and Henrietta soon after their wedding, following IVF treatment.
Nevertheless, Anton, revealed on Giovanna Fletcher's Happy mum Happy Baby podcast that Hannah harboured doubts about their prospects of starting a family due to her crippling condition.
The professional dancer admitted he "couldn't understand the universe" after witnessing Hannah interact with her nephews, before exploring their IVF experience.
He said: "I knew I wanted to be with her, I saw her with her nephews. She's so kind and so caring, I just couldn't understand the universe.", reports Lancs Live.
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"And whoever is upstairs, if anyone's upstairs, looking down and going 'you are the most perfect person to have children, but I'm not going to let you have any children because I'm going to give you this'.
"And I'm going to say 'you're going to have this endometriosis, and you're going to suffer with this all of your life, chronically, and I'm not going to let you have any children.
"I thought that was peculiar, cruel, and inexplicable and unforgivable. And if ever I go up to somewhere and meet this person I would say 'I think you're not OK with decisions like this, this doesn't make any sense to me."
Anton has candidly spoken about the difficulties he and his wife Hannah encountered during the IVF process, which ultimately brought them closer together. The couple were lucky as the treatment was successful on their first attempt, resulting in the birth of their twins, George and Henrietta, in 2017, and they married later that same year.
In a heartfelt chat with Giovanna, Anton opened up about his previous lack of awareness regarding endometriosis and emphasised the importance of increased government funding for women's health.
Reflecting on their journey, he shared: "Then we went through the process of IVF, well crying out loud. You girls are extraordinary. As much as I want to get involved, all I can do is hold your hand. It makes me emotional every time I talk about it. The injections, the stress, the anxiety. I have anxiety and stress but it's not my body.
"She has these injections and the bruises in the bum, in the thigh, in the stomach. And you're trying to help but what can you do? Whatever you want, tell me and I'll do it but that's all you have and it's horrendous as a man to watch it.
"You feel so inadequate and you want to do so much more but I can't do anything. And that's why you girls are so extraordinary, you're extraordinary that you do all this stuff."
