Michelle Yeoh ‘felt like a failure’ for not being able to have children as she reveals the impact of infertility on her first marriage
Actress Michelle Yeoh has spoken about her battle with infertility in a candid new chat.
The Malaysian actress, who is known for films including the Bond franchise and the new Wicked film, appeared on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour for an in-depth discussion where she revealed she felt like a “failure” not being able to have children.
The Hollywood star, now 62, admitted that she thinks it was one of the causes of the breakdown of her first marriage to businessman Dickson Poon which ended in 1992.
READ MORE: Why Paulina Porizkova felt ‘objectified’ during early Sports Illustrated Swimsuit shoots
READ MORE: Sam Kerr expecting first child with football star fiancée
“And I think the worst moment to go through is every month you feel like such a failure,” she said during the interview.
“And then you go, why? And I think at some point you stop blaming yourself. I go, there are certain things in your body that don’t function in a certain way. That’s how it is.”
She added it was important to not blame yourself amid infertility struggles.
“You just have to let go and move on. And I think you come to a point where you have to stop blaming you.”
The star and Academy Award winner said she thinks it contributed to the end of her first marriage.
”Because that also maybe would be the main factor that broke up my first marriage,” she said.
For a daily dose of 9honey, subscribe to our newsletter here.
“But you also have to understand these are conversations you have to have with yourself and be able to look ahead and think, yes, we love each other very much but in ten or 20 years, I still can’t give him the family he craves for and you have to be fair.”
She added that conversations about starting a family early on in a relationship is important, saying: “That’s why dialogue between a couple is so important… I think it was brave on our path… to say, let’s not drag this out.”
She is now godmother to her ex-husband’s eldest and recently welcomed a grandchild with her husband, French motor racing executive Jean Todt, through her stepson.
The pair married last year.
FOLLOW US ON WHATSAPP HERE: Stay across all the latest in celebrity, lifestyle and opinion via our WhatsApp channel. No comments, no algorithm and nobody can see your private details.