The Olympic gold medalist has been candid about her difficult journey to motherhood on her podcast, 'Tara Lipinski: Unexpecting.'
After a long and tumultuous journey, Tara Lipinski is expecting her first child with Todd Kapostasy.
The Olympic gold medalist shared the happy news that the couple is expecting via surrogate on their podcast and vodcast, Tara Lipinski: Unexpecting, on Thursday.
The couple -- who tied the knot in 2017 -- have been documenting their ongoing, five-year quest to become parents on the podcast. For Lipinski, the journey has included four miscarriages, four D&C’s, six failed transfers, eight retrievals and ultimately, a diagnosis of endometriosis with two subsequent major surgeries.
Now, the couple is opening up about the happier side of their journey, including their "magical" connection with their surrogate, Mikayla, noting that her husband and children are all part of the process.
"There was an immediate connection and bond between us, one I just didn't expect to feel so strongly," Tara shares in their latest episode. "Two peas in a pod type of feeling…teammates on the deepest level."
"She's been able to give me reassurance and make the journey as good as it can be, especially for someone who has been through a lot of trauma," adds the champion figure skater. "We speak every single day. We've now become close friends and we've created this beautiful connection that I didn't expect going into this."
Lipinski first opened up about her fertility struggles in an emotional Instagram post in August.
"I've been keeping a bit of a secret for the last 5 years and that’s definitely been a strange feeling for me. I've always felt so comfortable sharing my life with all of you-so to have gone on this journey privately for half a decade has been isolating to say the least," the message began. "However I needed that isolation to find a way to cope and to adapt to my new normal. I was so overwhelmed and wasn't emotionally or mentally ready to bring more people on board. My life turned upside down and became completely consumed by our heartbreaking and often devastating fertility journey."
The 41-year-old shared how the fertility rollercoaster inspired her and Kapostasy to start their podcast.
"I’m finally ready to talk about it and my husband and I couldn't think of a better way to tell our story than through a podcast the two of us have created together," she wrote. "We have been working on this for quite some time. Our conversations have brought up a lot of past emotions but at the same it’s been healing to dive in and close some of these chapters together. Nothing will be off limits as I wanted to have the most candid conversations that we could- this is by far the most vulnerable I’ve ever been in my life. My hope is to truly bring more awareness to the world of IVF, pregnancy loss and couples struggling to build a family."
"Most people have heard about IVF but not often the cruel existence this forces upon its patients when things don't go as planned," she concluded. "And many many people are on this very same tumultuous rollercoaster. Infertility can be one of the loneliest clubs to be a part of and my hope is by telling my story maybe we can help other couples going through similar journeys not feel so alone. Im glad I have you guys along for the ride now."
Tara Lipinski: Unexpecting is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube and wherever podcasts are heard.
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