Jess Wright: ‘I’ve Frozen My Embryos Because I’m Worried About Early Menopause’

Over the summer, former TOWIE star Jess Wright walked down the aisle, and married fiancé William Lee-Kemp in Majorca. The couple invited cameras to the big day - and on Tuesday, viewers will be able to see just how their wedding came together on ITVBe. But the show doesn't just cover frivolous things like dresses and seating plans, it also follows Jess and William as they embark on embryo freezing.

For Jess, 36, it was vital she covered the IVF treatment on the show, as she wanted to raise awareness as to why she was having it done. With her mum going through menopause at 41, and her grandmother Nanny Pat going through it at a similar age, Jess has been concerned that she might go through the menopause slightly younger - after seeing an article about presenter Zoe Hardman going through the menopause at 34, when her mum had gone through it at 40. (For those that are worried, Jess advises women to go and get their fertility checked.)

'While the TV show is about my wedding and the fairy tale - kind of superficial stuff - we're including the stuff that's so real about this kind of situation, with early menopause and egg freezing{ =nofollow},' she tells Grazia.

'I said to the producer, I really want you to cover this because it is so relevant,' Jess continues, 'there are so many girls out there in my position. But it was only when I saw that article that I became aware if your mum goes through early menopause{ =nofollow}, you might go through it five years earlier than your mum and grandmother.'

'I haven't gone into menopause now, but I was getting sweats in the night so bad,' Jess continues. 'I knew that it was a symptom so I was really, really panicking myself and spiralling into this ditch of I'm going through menopause, or I'm going to start, and then I was worrying if we're going to have to be able to have children. The pandemic was on, we didn't know if we were getting married, and everything was kind of intense.'

Jess thinks one of the reasons early menopause is a subject rarely talked about is due to stigma - something which she hopes will change. 'I wanted to [cover] this so that people are aware it can happen,' Jess continues, before admitting: 'I was embarrassed to say it's my partner, "Oh, I might go through early menopause" - it's not exactly the most sexy thing to say, but at the same time, William is so supportive.'

As Jess went through the process, which her and William did privately (you can do it on the NHS), she was told the likelihood of even getting one successful embryo was small. But the couple were very lucky, and ended up with five. 'It's such a long process with the lead up to it - all the injections, the hormones and all this prep for quite a few weeks - to then get to the day, and [doctors] say to you, hopefully you'll get one,' she says.

Her and William are hoping to try and start a family soon, even though Jess does have one hesitation - something which she thinks women also don't talk about. 'I've always been really, really maternal. I love children,' she says. 'My only struggle with it - which I think is another thing that women can't really discuss that much - is that I'm scared of losing our freedom. It sounds a bit kind of hypocritical, because I'm also desperate to start a family. I can't wait to have children and hopefully I'm blessed with children - but I'm also terrified. And that's probably why I've waited until now to go down that road.'

Jess Wright: The Wedding airs on Tuesday at 9pm on ITVBe.

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