The 'Vanderpump Rules' star is ready to have another child, and wants to destigmatize the process.
Vanderpump Rules star Lala Kent is ready to have her second child -- and she's doing it on her own.
The reality star opened up in a new interview with Cosmopolitan, sharing her decision to conceive as a single mother via IUI. Kent welcomed daughter Ocean, now 2, with her ex-fiancé, Randall Emmett, in March 2021, though the couple split later that year.
"When I had my life go in a very different direction, I knew I wanted more kids," she shares. "It was such a strange thing that was happening because everyone would tell me, 'You’re going to find somebody.' And I got to thinking, why does my wanting more children need to involve another person?"
IUI, or intrauterine insemination, is a process by which sperm is placed directly in the uterus, increasing chances of fertilization and conception. Kent said that by opening up about her plans to conceive her second child, she hopes to destigmatize the process of artificial insemination and choosing to conceive with a sperm donor.
"I would say the IUI process is very much having scientific sex," she says. "It's the most wild thing in the world. When my doctor was explaining it to me, I was like, 'Oh, this is just like I am in the bedroom with someone, but I don’t have to wait for the big O. It's just one and done.'"
Of choosing her donor, the reality star quips, "It's like you’re shopping for your partner but only to have a child, so there’s a lot that goes into it. But the moment I found this donor, it just spoke to me. He felt like my baby daddy."
Though she is confident in her decision, Kent admitted that she does sometimes slip into feelings of guilt surrounding Ocean and the end of her relationship with Emmett.
"I sometimes suffer with guilt, because I did have an easy time with Ocean," she reflects. "My life has completely blown up, and yet I have this healthy, happy baby, which I'm so grateful for. But you do struggle with the, 'Why me?'"
However, she's nothing but confident about her decisions surrounding her second child.
"I will not gamble on me having my child," Kent says of choosing IUI. "I just don't think that finding a partner and falling in love with someone has anything to do with bringing a child into the world."
To other women who might be considering the same option, she shares, "If you want children and are only waiting for 'that person' to come into your life, let's talk about a different route that we can take. It’s 2024! There are many ways to have a baby, and you don't need a man to do it."
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