Bachelorette star Luke McLeod has bravely spoken out about his fertility struggles, days after announcing he is set to become a father for the first time.
Luke, who found fame on Sophie Monk’s season in 2017, surprised his followers on Father’s Day by announcing that his wife Brittany Bennett was pregnant with a baby girl.
Sharing the news on Instagram, Luke confirmed the pair had tried for four years to make their dream of starting a family a reality.
On Thursday he returned to Instagram to share more details about his fertility story, revealing that it was a story he ‘never thought would happen’ or ‘wanted to share’, but that it was an ‘important one’.
‘A few things I was not expecting when trying to become a dad,’ he began.
The first unexpected revelation was that Luke had ‘zero swimmers’ – meaning he had no viable sperm.
Bachelorette star Luke McLeod (left, with wife Brittany Bennett) has bravely spoken out about his fertility struggles, days after announcing he is set to become a father for the first time
Luke, who found fame on Sophie Monk’s season in 2017, surprised his followers on Father’s Day by announcing Brittany was pregnant with a baby girl
‘After Britt and I had been trying for over a year, I decided to do a fertility test (you can self-refer). When I got the results back, it said 0…’
Luke then revealed he’d found a lump ‘down there’, and initially feared he had prostate cancer.
‘After I got the [fertility test] results back, I went to Dr Google and it said prostate cancer could be a cause, so in the shower I had a good feel and found a small lump,’ he explained.
‘Luckily it turned out to be a small cyst (apparently quite common). That week of not knowing if it was or wasn’t cancer was full on!’
The meditation coach went to see a specialist in Sydney, who told him he still had a ‘40% chance of finding some swimmers’, but that he would have to undergo surgery to maximise the chances.
After the surgery, Luke received a phone call saying ‘they found nothing and never will’ – news that sent him into a depressive spiral.
‘After the surgery I was in a pretty dark place for a few months. Confused, angry, depressed, all of it. I definitely put into practice every little thing I often talk about on here (using meditation to process emotions etc),’ he wrote.
Luke then praised Brittany for helping him through this tough time.
On Thursday he returned to Instagram to share more details about his fertility story, revealing that it was a story he ‘never thought would happen’ or ‘wanted to share’, but that it was an ‘important one’
Luke then revealed he’d found a lump ‘down there’, and initially feared he had prostate cancer
‘It was this person that helped me the most. Reassuring me that we were in this together no matter what.’
‘This wasn’t the end to our challenges but it was [the] start to a new level of depth in our relationship,’ he wrote.
Luke didn’t reveal what happened next in his fertility journey, but only that Brittany eventually managed to fall pregnant.
The couple married in 2023 during a romantic ceremony in NSW’s Hunter Valley region.
The couple had announced their engagement in 2022 after Luke proposed by the beach.
Since his stint on The Bachelorette, Luke has been keeping busy by focusing on his work in meditation through his company Soul Alive.
Fans of Bachelor In Paradise will also remember the meditation guru swept his ex Lisa Hyde off her feet on the dating show.
Despite ending their relationship, the pair remained good friends.
After the surgery, Luke received a photo call saying ‘they found nothing and never will’ – news that sent him into a depressive spiral
Luke didn’t reveal what happened next in his fertility journey, but only that Brittany eventually managed to fall pregnant
