"Dancing With the Stars” co-host Julianne Hough recently took to social media to share her fertility journey with fans, and she’s glad she did.
“I wasn’t really showing it to be like, ‘I’m going to make a big statement,’” Hough told People, adding, “but with the response I got, I realized how important it was.”
The dancer and actor revealed in a June 7 Instagram post that she was undergoing her third round of freezing her eggs, and shared a video of the 10 days leading up to the procedure. Hough is shown giving herself injections, going to doctor appointments, and getting an ultrasound.
“If sharing just a small piece of my journey helps someone feel less alone, or inspires them to ask questions and explore what’s right for them, then I feel like it’s worth it,” Hough captioned the post.
The post got hundreds of thousands of likes, and now Hough is reflecting on why sharing her brave journey means so much. “I found out I have endometriosis when I was 19 or 20 … I wish back then I would’ve been told to freeze my eggs, but I wasn’t told until later on.”
An Empowering Process
Hough, 36, has noticed a lot of personal growth since she first began her fertility journey. Much of it has to do with the fact that this time around she’s chosen to administer the hormone injections herself.
“… the first time I did it, I didn’t do the shots myself,” Hough explained. “I went in every day, and they did them for me. Then I was like, ‘Wait, I feel really empowered doing them myself.’”
And if she was having a hard day, she felt comfortable leaning on others who’d been down the same path. “… I was able to call friends who have gone through it at any moment and be like, ‘Hey, I feel really crazy right now. Can you just come over and sit next to me?'”
Hough Hopes to Inspire Others
Hough has come a long way both personally and professionally since making her debut on “DWTS” in 2007 at age 18. And while motherhood is clearly one of her goals, so is using her platform to help others.
“This next season of my life is more about taking all the things that I’ve learned and sort of passing it along in a way where it activates other people to step into their power,” she said.
