The longtime model and TV host opens up about her fertility struggles while judging a pregnancy-themed photo shoot on Cycle 24 of 'America's Next Top Model.'
Tyra Banks hasn’t been shy about her fertility struggles, opening up about undergoing IVF treatments in an attempt to get pregnant with her first child.
“I've had some not happy moments with that, very traumatic moments. It's difficult as you get older. It's not something that can just happen,” Banks revealed to People in 2015, as the model was shifting focus from America’s Next Top Model, which was canceled later that year, to hosting the short-lived daytime talk show, FABLife.
What fans didn’t know at the time was that Banks was undergoing IVF treatments while filming Cycle 22 of America’s Next Top Model. On Cycle 24, with Banks back as host and lead judge on VH1’s revival of the competition, she opens up about her “crazy struggle” to get pregnant at the time.
“And on Cycle 22's final runway, at the [Walt] Disney Concert Hall, I had to go into a back closet and give myself my final shot, and that was the seventh round of IVF,” Banks says while offering comfort to 20-year-old contestant Rhiyan Carreker, who was struggling with that week’s pregnancy-themed photo shoot.
“That's the round I had my baby,” Banks continues, getting visibly emotional, “so there is hope, OK.”
In January 2016, it was announced that she and boyfriend Erik Asla had their first child, York Banks Asla, born via surrogacy.
Speaking with ET from the set of Cycle 24, Banks revealed the most surprising thing about being a working mom, balancing hosting gigs on both America’s Next Top Model and America’s Got Talent on NBC.
“Just how tired [I am]. I’m tired right now because I was up all night. He was waking up all night and [had a] bottle at 5:30 this morning,” she said. But the new mom explained all the exhaustion is a positive thing. “It’s a good tired because I wouldn’t want it any other way.”
And since being a mom is a full-time gig, Banks revealed that she brings her nearly 2-year-old son with her on set, while filming ANTM. “I have a nursery down the hall that has pictures on the walls,” she said, adding: “York comes all the time.”
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