Emma Roberts opens up about her fertility struggles

Emma Roberts surprised fans earlier this year when she announced that she was expecting her first child with boyfriend Garrett Hedlund. The couple had yet to publicly confirm their relationship when Roberts debuted her growing stomach, but in a new interview for Cosmo magazine, the American Horror Story actor says that no one was more surprised than her. After receiving a late diagnosis for endometriosis, Roberts revealed to the mag that she didn’t know whether it would be possible for her to get pregnant.Roberts showed off her changing figure on the cover of the December issue of Cosmo, which features an interview by novelist and screenwriter Stephanie Danler. The two friends met at a reading of Danler’s debut novel Sweetbitter in 2016, which was later turned into a TV series (stream now on Crave). In the deeply personal piece, Roberts opens up about how she’s feeling at 28 weeks pregnant, her fears around raising a child in Los Angeles and her fertility struggles.Roberts, who said she always thought she would be married and have kids by the age of 24, revealed that after years of having her complaints about debilitating cramps and periods dismissed by male doctors, she was finally properly diagnosed. “In my late 20s, I just had a feeling I needed to switch to a female doctor. It was the best decision. She ran tests, sent me to a specialist. Finally, there was validation that I wasn’t being dramatic,” said Roberts. “But by then, it had affected my fertility. I was told, ‘You should probably freeze your eggs or look into other options.’”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

If we’ve learned anything from 2020, it’s don’t wait. Decembuary cover star @emmaroberts stopped waiting about, oh, nine months ago. Head to the link in bio for @smdanler's interview with the actress/first pregnant person to ever cover this mag/#ExtraCurricular professor ?.

A post shared by Cosmopolitan (@cosmopolitan) on Nov 11, 2020 at 5:05am PST

Although Roberts was relieved to finally have an official diagnosis, the increase in the ticking clock on her fertility was a shock. “I said, ‘I’m working right now. I don’t have time to freeze my eggs.’ To be honest, I was also terrified,” said Roberts. “Just the thought of going through that and finding out, perhaps, that I wouldn’t be able to have kids….I did freeze my eggs eventually, which was a difficult process.”[video_embed id='1985104']RELATED: Emma Roberts is pregnant[/video_embed]Roberts said that she found a supportive community with other women who were also going through their own struggles with fertility. “When I found out about my fertility, I was kind of stunned. It felt so permanent, and oddly, I felt like I had done something wrong,” said Roberts. “But I started opening up to other women, and all of a sudden, there was a new world of conversation about endometriosis, infertility, miscarriages, fear of having kids. I was so grateful to find out I was not alone in this. I hadn’t done anything “wrong” after all.”Robert said that it wasn’t until she got to a place where she felt more optimistic about her future as a parent that she and Hedlund got pregnant. “But even then, I didn’t want to get my hopes up,” said Roberts. “Things can go wrong when you’re pregnant. That’s something you don’t see on Instagram. So I kept it to myself, my family, and my partner, not wanting to make grand plans if it wasn’t going to work out. This pregnancy made me realize that the only plan you can have is that there is no plan.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Hey guys! I promised you I would open the vault and reveal my audition tape from #unfabulous if 500 of you registered to vote or checked your registration. You guys showed up !!! Over 1300 of you clicked on my HeadCount link to make sure you’re #GoodToVote !!! ???? check back tomorrow for the #unfabulous video! In the meantime #vote !!!!

A post shared by Emma Roberts (@emmaroberts) on Oct 29, 2020 at 7:47am PDT

The 29-year-old actor, who revealed in August that she and Hedlund are expecting a boy, said that she’s feeling grateful to be pregnant and healthy, but admits that she is anxious about how she and Hedlund will keep their son safe once he arrives. The daughter of actor Eric Roberts and the niece of Oscar-winner Julia Roberts, Emma has lived her life seeing firsthand how entertainers are forced to give up large parts of their privacy and security.Recounting her recent morning commute, which included several paparazzi following Roberts at a dangerously close distance, the actor acknowledged that she is fearful for her son. “I was thinking, What am I going to do when this happens when he’s here? It’s something that I don’t have the answer to yet. I signed up for this, but he didn’t,” said Roberts.[video_embed id='-1']Before you go: Siblings have priceless reaction after learning mom's pregnant with twins[/video_embed]