Francesca Farago and her fiance Jesse Sullivan spoke candidly about the struggles they have faced on their IVF journey during an interview with Page Six this week.
Too Hot To Handle star Farago, 29, and her TikTok star partner, 34, who came out as a trans man in 2019, stated that they had undergone a ‘mentally and physically taxing’ process while trying to bring a child into their lives.
Farago, who was formerly engaged to Harry Jowsey, and Sullivan also spoke about the online hostility they had received over the course of their relationship.
The reality star said of undergoing fertility treatment: ‘It’s extremely hard on your mental health. You’re freaking out, you feel terrible, you’re tired, you’re bloated, you feel depressed in a way.
Sullivan, who got engaged to Farago in May, also underwent IVF treatments and stopped injecting himself with testosterone as ‘he wanted to give himself the best chance.’
Family plans: Francesca Farago and her fiance Jesse Sullivan spoke candidly about the struggles they have faced on their IVF journey during an interview with Page Six this week
The couple, who had already selected a sperm donor, has been able to create 15 embryos with Farago’s eggs and three with her partner’s, and all are currently undergoing testing to determine which one will be the most suitable for growth.
The reality television star, who is planning to carry the fertilized embryo, also spoke about having ‘a bad reaction to the IVF’ treatments’ at first.
She is currently planning to try again in January, and she will use one of her embryos first and one from Sullivan’s if a second is needed.
Sullivan commented that the clinic they chose was particularly accommodating for trans people.
‘They knew it was a very difficult process as a trans man to go into those situations that are considered female and for women, and they were just so sensitive to me,’ he recalled.
Jesse was candid about receiving hate for being a parent to his child Arlo, 15, who identifies as non-binary.
‘You cannot be a trans person in this world and not get hate for almost everything,’ he remarked.
Not holding back: The Too Hot To Handle cast member, who was formerly engaged to Harry Jowsey, and the TikTok star, who came out as a trans man in 2019, also spoke about the online hostility they had received over the course of their relationship
Working it out: The couple, who had already selected a sperm donor, has been able to create 15 embryos with Farago’s eggs and three with her partner’s, and all are currently undergoing testing to determine which one will be the most suitable for growth
Harsh: The TikTok star was remarkably honest about receiving hate for being a parent to his child Arlo, 15, who identifies as non-binary
Farago and Sullivan also recalled ‘talking about how we would conceive our future children’ just two months into their relationship.
‘It was one of our really early-on conversations. And the way that we spoke about it in that car is the way we actually ended up doing it,’ she recalled.
The happy couple said that they would like to raise a family of five, including Arlo.
Jesse said: ‘People are always like, “Are you sure?” I’m like, “If anyone’s sure, it’s me, because I had to do it single and as a teenager, and I still want more kids.”‘
