Beloved longtime beauty YouTuber Tati Westbrook, otherwise known as glamlifeguru, recently alluded to a huge personal announcement on Twitter, leaving fans with the idea that a fun new project or Halo Beauty product was on the way — definitely not.
With her subscribers' support, Westbrook just announced that she plans to make less YouTube content from here on out to focus more on her beauty brand and, most important, to try to have a baby with her husband of nine years.
In the video announcement, Westbrook opened up about her health, previous troubles with fertility, and her dream of becoming a mother. Read all the details below.
YouTuber Tati Westbrook has been known for her prolific YouTube content.
For a while now, Westbrook has been filming and uploading five fully produced beauty product reviews every single week — and that's a lot of content to create by yourself.
But recently, she announced that she's taking a huge step back from YouTube for one major reason.
"I'm basically here to just be open that I'm stretched too thin," she said in a video titled "Why I'm Stepping Back." "Running this indie brand and my channel five days a week is not working for me anymore."
"A big reason for [stepping down from YouTube] is that James and I are trying to have a baby, and we are actively pursuing fertility treatments and figuring out what's best for us."
James is Westbrook's husband, with whom she just celebrated a nine-year anniversary. If you've watched even just a handful of Westbrook's videos, this guy needs no introduction.
"I have had fertility issues," Westbrook bared on her channel. "I've never really gone in-depth with that... but it has been a deep pain in my soul that I have not been able to have children."
Westbrook said she's spoken on the topic briefly before, but she never went in-depth because it just didn't feel fitting to bring up during a beauty review.
"I've always wanted to be a mom; I've talked about that for the longest time."
"I'm not getting any younger, and I finally really just want to give it a good shot to see what I can do as far seeking options with my doctors and planning things out and being active about starting a family."
Westbrook continued her announcement by tearfully opening up about her fears regarding her reproductive health.
"I'm terrified," she said. After pausing to wipe away a few stray tears, Westbrook recounts heartbreaking experiences of feeling like her body has "failed" her.
"As a woman, you feel like your body should be able to do this on its own, and it's always frustrated me that my body betrays me a lot."
"That's a huge part of why I have been so in tune with my health and wellness and why I put priority there," she said. "I have to; I don't have a choice. I have a huge inflammatory response to a lot of different things; I have endometriosis; I deal with a lot."
"Right now, I need to take a step back and not be as stressed and not be the woman who's trying to do it all and do it all perfectly just for the sake of saying I did that."
"I need to step back and honor myself and my body and do what I can to make the dream of becoming a mom come true," she said. "That's the biggest reason."
"My dream of being a mom is going to happen whether I carry a baby or adopt one," Westbrook said with utter confidence.
"I want to share as much of it with you guys as I can."
Westbrook followed up with the promise that she'll still be very active on Snapchat and Instagram — she might even upload a few blogs here and there on her way to becoming a mother.
Though Westbrook admits she's scared of losing fans during her semi-hiatus, support for her immediately arrived in the form of YouTube comments.
"It sounded beautiful when you said James and I are trying to have a baby," one user wrote.
"Tati I will never leave you!" another chimed in.
"You and James are incredible and deserve to have a family bigger than it is now. I know I will never stop watching and supporting you and what you've accomplished," wrote one more.
Several women even commented to share their own struggles with fertility, stress, and motherhood.
"4 years trying to get pregnant," read one comment. "4 IVF treatments later we have our son Luca. Never give up. You will get your baby!"
"Tati I'm crying with you. We miscarried this year and are trying again now. It's so scary and magical at the same time," one user wrote.
Many also chimed in to say that five videos a week is A LOT, and that Westbrook shouldn't feel ashamed for taking this step back.
Between filming five YouTube videos per week and running her own indie beauty brand, Westbrook is already doing two full-time jobs — that's hard enough as it is, let alone doing it while trying to get pregnant and stay healthy.
Watch Westbrook's 11-minute announcement video below.
Just try not to cry when Westbrook opens up about her fertility struggle about halfway through.
Good luck, Tati!
Your followers will support you until you have the baby you've always wanted.
