Meghan King’s IVF journey was not easy but knowing that she was finally pregnancy made it all worth the effort and pain, she said. Meghan and then husband, Jim Edmonds, underwent two cycles of IVF.
“I remember exactly where I was,” she told People magazine. “I was in my bathroom in my California house, and Jimmy was out in the hallway. And I called him in and he was like, ‘Oh my God, it’s real!’”
The star of the Real Housewives of Orange County shared about her IVF journey via her blog, when she had conceived for the second time and was already 10 weeks into the pregnancy.
Baby announcement
When she was 33, the television personality revealed she’s expecting a baby boy and their one-year-old daughter is ready to don the hat of a big sister.
“So, we’ve made it to the announcement: Aspen is going to be a big sister!” King wrote in her blog post. Pregnancies are hard to keep under wraps, especially if you are already a reality star, and Meghan shared that she is already 10 weeks into the pregnancy.
“It was so hard for us to keep it a secret from everyone especially since we shared our entire IVF journey with Aspen on RHOC from the very beginning.”
Why did Meghan do multiple IVF cycles?
Meghan married the former MLB center fielder in October 2014 and they welcomed daughter Aspen in November 2016 with the help of in vitro fertilization.
“When Aspen was only a few months old Jimmy and I knew we wanted to add another baby to the mix,” she said.
She wanted to have boy to balance their family, especially because Jim already has four girls and a boy from previous relationships.
“Aspen has half-siblings but we wanted her to be able to share in the joy of waking up to a sibling every day of her life,” Meghan said.
The couple had two frozen girl embryos from their previous IVF cycle so Meghan decided to undergo another round of IVF in hopes of having a boy.
“This was a difficult decision for us. Jimmy was adamant he didn’t care about the sex of the baby; he just didn’t want me to have to again endure the emotional rollercoaster that comes with IVF. (If we had decided to transfer one of the female embryos my drug regimen would’ve been much less involved than full blown IVF.),” she explained.
“But I insisted: I was more comfortable with going through IVF again since I knew what to expect. So, we moved forward with IVF.”
Meghan King’s IVF gave her depression?
The reality star had shared her journey through the first cycle of IVF onscreen. She said that it gave her “the worst depression of my life”.
The second time around, she found it easier as she had her support system —Aspen and pet pooch, Girly Girl. The couple waited for the baseball season to end before they start the treatment, so Jimmy could be present around her.
“I felt like I handled this IVF much more in stride,” Meghan wrote. “I’m not sure if it’s because I knew what to expect or if maybe my body was used to the hormones, but it was easier. I was also armed with the emotional mindset to be so much healthier this time around whereas last time I was surrounded by the stress of filming RHOC (which is VERY stressful and emotionally taxing).”
Lifestyle changes to cope with IVF?
She also admits to have made significant lifestyle changes to cope with IVF—eating healthy, cutting out on alcohol, going for regular acupuncture sessions, and daily walks. “I also prayed, meditated, and read a lot,” she said. “I didn’t even watch emotional or negative TV shows. I just felt at ease.”
“I’m so obsessed with motherhood,” King said in an interview with ET. “It’s all consuming. It’s all you do. That’s all you care about. Everything else is just peripheral.”
Why did they need genetic testing?
The second time around the doctors were able to retrieve 10 eggs from her ovaries, all of them were fertilized, and they had ten embryos.
At this point pre-implantation genetic testing was done to identify any genetic abnormalities in the embryos and also check their gender. By transferring genetically healthy embryos, you can eliminate the risk of a miscarriage due to chromosomal abnormalities.
“The way I see it is that if I get pregnant with a PGS embryo my chances of miscarriage are virtually eliminated except for an act of God,” Meghan wrote. “PGS also uncovers the sex of each embryo. Of our ten embryos, only four were chromosomally NORMAL: three boys and one girl! We were a bit shocked that 60% of our embryos were abnormal but so happy to have four VERY strong and perfectly healthy embryos.”
So, embryo transfer was done and Meghan tested positive for pregnancy.
“I’m not feeling the greatest but we know that it will all be worth it in the end. Aspen will make a fabulous big sister at only a year-and-a-half old in June 2018!” read her blog.
“Oh, what about the biggest question: Boy or girl? Think blue this time around!”
On June 5, 2018, the couple welcomed twin baby boys, whom they named Hart and Hayes.
Meghan King and Jim Edmonds separation
Just about a year after the birth of their boys, Meghan King and Jim Edmonds parted ways in 2019 and their divorce was finalized in 2021.
Both parties accused the other of misconduct and eventually went on to marry other people.
While Jim wed Kortnie O’Connor in 2022, Meghan King also got married to Cuffe Biden Owens, a nephew of President Joe Biden.
No more sharing kids’ pictures online
In 2024, Meghan King announced that she since she stopped posting her children’s pictures online, her income dropped significantly, and it forced her to find a new career path.
“I’ve made a full-time living promoting products including occasionally using my children directly in ads. I’ve saved that money for them in a trust but it’s a strange moral line to toe: stay home [with] them by using them in ads, or get a traditional job and see them less but keep them off social media. Which is better?”
She still posts images of their kids online, but censors their faces.
After some ups and downs early on, Meghan King and Jim Edmonds’ co-parenting relationship for their kids has improved. “Things are good. We’ve come a long way,” she said in March 2024.