Chrissy Teigen Struggled to Conceive Before Pregnancy News But Always Wanted "a Lot of Kids": A Look Back

Chrissy Teigen has been open about wanting kids, but until very recently, she kept her struggle to conceive a private one. Less than a month before announcing her pregnancy in an Instagram post on Monday, Oct. 12, the supermodel revealed her fertility issues in a chat with her FABLife co-hosts Tyra Banks, Joe Zee, Leah Ashley, and Lauren Makk.

"I will say, just two years into being married, the questions just come from all over," she said of people wanting to know her plans for kids with John Legend. "It's kind of crazy, because I can't imagine being that nosy to be like, 'So, when are the kids coming?' Because who knows what somebody's going through? Who knows if somebody's struggling to have children?"

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In fact, Teigen, 29, and her R&B crooner husband, 36, had been struggling. As she revealed on FABLife, they wanted children even before they got married in 2013. "We would have had kids five, six years ago if it had happened, but my gosh, it's been a process," she shared, noting that they'd been to fertility doctors for help. "Anytime somebody asks me if I'm gonna have kids, I'm like, 'One day, you're gonna ask that to the wrong girl who is really struggling, and it's gonna be really hurtful to them.'"

The Lip Sync Battle commentator later told E! News that she'd wanted to talk about the issue before, but she never felt like it was the right time or place. "It didn't feel right to tweet, like, 'Ugh, doing my IVF shots again,'" she explained, alluding to her usual habit of sharing on social media.

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Friends in the couple's (fairly large) inner circle knew about their journey, but "nobody said a thing," she told E! "I swear, I have a team of maybe 60 people, John has hundreds, and everyone knew," Teigen said. "The failures, the successes, everything, but it's never gotten out. We've been open about it, just never public." 

Now that it is public, though, the former Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover girl is happy to hear from fans who've experienced similar struggles.

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"John and I have been going through this for years, and it's something that has been a part of our lives and our friends have known," she added. "So it's nice to have all my social media friends know and have them share their stories too."

Prior to her FABLife revelation, Teigen had only hinted at her struggles. "We want a lot of kids," she previously told Us Weekly. "When it happens, it happens. For us, it's hard because he's on the road so much and I'm working. People think it happens so easily, but the stars really have to align to have a baby, and it is a little miracle. So when it happens...we will be so happy."

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She also told Extra in July 2014 that she and Legend were "not not trying" to have kids. "As we say, it's a fun process," she said at the time. "It's definitely going to be a surprise, and a surprise we'd be happy for."

Indeed, Teigen wrote in her pregnancy announcement on Monday that she was "so happy" to share her news. "As many of you know, we've been trying to have a baby for a while now," she captioned a photo on Instagram. "It hasn't been easy, but we kept trying because we can't wait to bring our first child into the world and grow our family. We're so excited it's finally happening."

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This article originally appeared on Usmagazine.com: Chrissy Teigen Struggled to Conceive Before Pregnancy News But Always Wanted "a Lot of Kids": A Look Back