Tara Lipinski has been going through a painful experience that so many others will be able to relate to, and now, she's opening up about it for the very first time. In an emotional Instagram post, Tara revealed her five-year journey with infertility — a battle that she's been fighting in secret with husband Todd Kapostasy. Now, the former Olympian is ready to share her story, and there's no doubt that it will strike a chord with those who have faced infertility in their own lives.
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Tara shared a photo of herself clutching a handful of pregnancy tests while on her couch.
As if seeing this photo wasn't emotional enough, her caption is even more heartbreaking. Tara explained that she's kept her fertility journey hidden for the past five years because she wasn't "emotionally or mentally ready" to share the details, but now, she's ready to open up.
"My life turned upside down and became completely consumed by our heartbreaking and often devastating fertility journey," she wrote, adding that since 2018, she has "been under anesthesia 24 times, have had 4 miscarriages, 4 D&C's, 6 failed IVF transfers, 8 retrievals and a diagnosis of endometriosis that led me to 2 major surgeries."
She called their journey 'excruciatingly painful.'
"We are lucky to have the ability to make our own embryos but pregnancy is another story. But I’m finally ready to talk about it and my husband and I couldn't think of a better way to tell our story than through a podcast the two of us have created together," she continued.
She and Todd are set to launch a podcast including many "candid conversations" about everything they've been through in their quest to become parents, hoping to "bring more awareness to the world of IVF, pregnancy loss and couples struggling to build a family."
Their podcast will be called 'Unexpecting.'
Tara shared the trailer for the podcast in another Instagram post, and it's set to launch on Tuesday. According to what the 41-year-old told People, it was very important to her to be able to tell her story on her own terms.
"We didn't want to bring in anyone else. We didn't want someone to take care of audio or the camera. We wanted to feel like this was our thing and that we could get to a super vulnerable place," she said. "Obviously this has been pretty traumatic for me, so I definitely needed to do it at home and to be able to just do it with Todd."
She and Todd both produce, direct, and record the podcast in their own home.
Tara is thanking those who have shown her support so far.
In a follow-up post, Tara wrote that she had received "beautiful" messages from her followers after revealing her fertility struggles, and she shared a shout-out to those who have been there themselves.
"To all the women who retreat into their shells during these journeys, it’s OK. There are a million ways to cope. One day if you are ready, share. From personal experience yesterday I realize the beautiful group of women just waiting to tell their stories," she wrote.
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Tara's podcast debuts on August 29.
Though it certainly isn't easy to talk about such a sensitive topic, good for her (and Todd) for opening up anyway. Like she said in her Instagram posts, she's definitely not the only one who has been through this heartbreaking experience, so there's no doubt that there will be plenty of listeners who will feel less alone thanks to her podcast.
