Jackie Gillies originally quit The Real Housewives of Melbourne after Season 4 to go under IVF in the hope to have a baby with her husband Ben Gillies. However, the series was put on hold for over a year due to the pandemic.
Last month, Foxtel announced that Gillies was returning to the series after originally walking away from the show. Now, Gillies admits that she originally left the series due to IVF.
“I’m going through IVF, so what happened was, before Season 5 began I was asked to come back. I was the first housewife asked to come back. Initially, I said ‘Yeah, I’ll give it a crack,’ but then I started IVF, and oh my God. It was the hardest thing (and I’m still going through it) but it’s the hardest thing that I’ve ever experienced physically and emotionally. I knew that if I came back to that season, I wouldn’t have been an asset,” she told Punkee.
“The hormones, the injections, any person who has gone through IVF will connect with me on this, it’s so fucking hard. I wasn’t on the right wavelength to do the season.”
But then things changed and she notes why she decided to return to the series. “What happened was, I had this dream. I was asked to come back for the season — and then I dreamt myself filming! So then when I was [again] asked to come back by the executive producer, I say ‘I’m in!’ because I had gone through a year and a half of doing IVF and now I know what to expect. I’m in a better state emotionally. I miss the show and I want to come back. This was before Gina and Lydia were leaving.”
The celebrity psychic reveals the reason why she decided to return to the Foxtel hit reality series.
“I had to come back on the show to talk about IVF. I’ve had thousands of women message me, and I’ve done readings for women that go through IVF. Some women don’t like to talk about it, so I want to start the conversation. I don’t want them to feel ashamed, or feel alone,” she said.
“When I said ‘yes’ [to coming back on the show], I said I want this to be featured. I’m going to be raw and honest and open about everything I experience, to the point where people will be like, ‘Holy shit, Jackie is just keeping it 100’. IVF isn’t easy and there’s not a lot of people talking about it. That’s why I try to encourage women to freeze their eggs. It doesn’t matter if you don’t have a partner, it doesn’t matter if you don’t know if you want children…if you freeze your eggs and you’re 40 and 45 and still have your period, your eggs are there! I’m all about encouraging women, freeze your eggs and freeze them now!”
Photo Credit: Foxtel
