Gabrielle Union is opening up about the difficulties she has had conceiving with husband Dwyane Wade.
The actress gets candid in her new book We're Going To Need More Wine, due out October 17 by Harper Collins. In an excerpt obtained by People magazine, she talks about going through IVF and having multiple miscarriages.
"I have had eight or nine miscarriages," the 44-year-old writes. "For three years, my body has been a prisoner of trying to get pregnant — I've either been about to go into an IVF cycle, in the middle of an IVF cycle, or coming out of an IVF cycle."
Union, who is stepmom to Wade's three sons, says she gets asked about her plans to have biological children of her own, but that adds to the pain.
"For so many women, and not just women in the spotlight, people feel very entitled to know, 'Do you want kids?'" she writes. "A lot of people, especially people that have fertility issues, just say 'no' because that's a lot easier than being honest about whatever is actually going on. People mean so well, but they have no idea the harm or frustration it can cause."
Other celebrities have spoken out about their infertility issues, including Chrissy Teigen, who also got tired of people questioning her choices. And Union has been candid about the pressures women face in choosing to have a career and waiting to start a family.
"So far, it has not happened for us. A lot of my friends deal with this," she told Redbook in 2015. "There's a certain amount of shame that is placed on women who have perhaps chosen a career over starting a family younger. The penance for being a career woman is barrenness. You feel like you're wearing a scarlet letter."