Whitney Way Thore is sharing an emotional and deeply personal moment from her journey to motherhood. The “My Big Fat Fabulous Life” star recently experienced an early pregnancy loss after undergoing fertility treatment, revealing that she had kept the news to herself.
In an exclusive sneak peek of the show’s upcoming season premiere, obtained by US Weekly, Thore, 42, tells her close friend Ashley about the experience while showing her a positive pregnancy test.
Thore Bravely Opens Up
“This is from October,” she says while holding up the test. “I was only pregnant, like, a few days. It was chemical.”
A chemical pregnancy is an early pregnancy loss that occurs within the first five weeks, before a pregnancy can typically be detected on an ultrasound, according to the Stony Brook Medicine.
Thore explained in a separate confessional interview that she had undergone intrauterine insemination, commonly known as IUI, in early October. The procedure involved using donor sperm at her doctor’s office as she continued trying to become a mother.
“Back in early October, I did an IUI, or artificial insemination with donor sperm at my doctor’s office, and for the first time, I got a positive pregnancy test,” she shared.
However, the positive result did not last. Thore said she got her period less than a week later and took another pregnancy test, which came back negative.
The reality star admitted that the experience was especially difficult because of how long she has wanted to have a child.
“Having a chemical pregnancy might not seem like a big deal to most people because it is so incredibly common. But for me, someone who’s been trying to get pregnant for so long, it feels huge. I mean, it is basically a very early miscarriage,” she explained.
Ashley was surprised to learn that her friend had gone through the experience without telling anyone. She questioned why Thore had felt she needed to handle the heartbreak alone.
Thore admitted she worried that others might not understand the emotional impact of such an early loss.
“I almost feel like some people would think, ‘Well, you didn’t lose anything. It wasn’t actually a baby,’” she said. “But you definitely do feel like you lost something.”
Ashley said hearing that her friend had experienced the pregnancy loss alone was heartbreaking.
“Hearing that Whitney went through this chemical pregnancy alone and didn’t tell anyone breaks my heart,” she said. “You thought you were growing a human and now you’re not, and that’s traumatic.”
There Is Now Engaged
Despite the difficult experience, Thore has also been celebrating a happy development in her personal life. The reality star is engaged to Jake Beaudoin, who proposed in August.
“Jake has officially graduated from boyfriend to fiancé,” she said previously. “We’re getting married, and we couldn’t be happier.”
Thore’s journey toward motherhood is expected to remain a major part of the new season of “My Big Fat Fabulous Life.” The series returns to TLC on Tuesday, Nov. 10, at 10 p.m. ET, giving viewers a closer look at her fertility journey, relationship and hopes for the future.
Whitney Way Thore Shares Devastating Loss