HGTV Star Mina Starsiak Reveals Infertility Struggle and IVF Journey

Any couple dealing with infertility can tell you it’s a difficult and painful journey. Sadly, struggles with infertility are common, and, yet, it remains a topic that many people still don’t feel like they can open up about. In recent years, more celebrities have come forward in an effort to help squash the stigma around fertility struggles. Now, HGTV’s Good Bones star Mina Starsiak is doing the same.

On Wednesday, Starsiak opened up about her struggles with in vitro fertilization. In a series posted to her Instagram stories, PEOPLE reports, she revealed her one viable embryo “did not get bigger” after its fertilization process. “It’s no good, so we’re not putting it in,” she said. “And I just have to go meet with [the doctor] to see what next steps are. So first round did not work.”

Despite the devastating news, Starsiak is maintaining a positive attitude. In a follow-up Instagram story, she said she was “trying to look at the bright side” of being able to continue her workouts at at Orangetheory Fitness. “I can go back to OTF, which I have been missing a lot because if I don’t work out I am a crazy person and I’m also jam-packed with hormones, so that makes it super fun,” she said.

Along with posting updates in her stories, she also shared a picture of her 16-month-old son, Jack Richard, on her Instagram feed, admitting that the news of her embryo is taking some time to process.

“My husband sent me this picture while I was working, doing demo on a property right after I got the call this morning that my one and only embryo was no good; that there would be no transfer,” she wrote in the caption. “I honestly hasn’t had much hope in our one embryo jumping perfectly through all the hurdles that exist btwn it fertilizing and an actual baby being born, so it hit me a bit harder that anticipated. But I have it easy in the world of infertility struggles. I have this man. He is my light every single day. And no, that doesn’t negate my current struggle and the emotions that come along with it. But I think it’s important to recognize that; that I’m at the beginning of a struggle that so many go through for YEARS.”

She acknowledged that she’s one of many women who go through the painful struggle of infertility, but it’s not often talked about. “The literal hundreds, likely thousands of women that have thanked me bc allowing my struggle to be public has helped them in one way or another; mostly just not feeling alone [because] so many people just don’t talk about these things. It’s a silent struggle [that] no one gets until they’re there,” she wrote.

Unfortunately, many women struggle with infertility, and IVF has become a lot more prevalent. But it can still be a challenging process, both emotionally and financially, and one that’s hard to talk about. But, with more and more people, including celebrities, opening up about their own journeys, hopefully more couples will be empowered to do the same.

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