Until the day when she lost her baby, Kimberly says that her life seemed just about perfect. She had her dream job directing an episode of Pretty Little Liars. She had adopted a new puppy, Jack. And she was going to be a mother to a baby girl. She recalls the moment she learned her child's gender, saying, "The nurse came on the phone and to my surprise, told me I was having a girl. That was probably the best day of my life thus far, the one I will remember as 'having it all.'"
All of the pieces seemed to be falling into place... and then suddenly it all fell apart.
That sentence really stood out to me. When life gets hard it often feels like there's pressure to find some teachable moment, some silver lining, some "reason" why it makes sense. But when there isn't one, we should be allowed to just feel sad, or angry, or robbed of something.
Twenty-two weeks is far enough along to have heard the heartbeat, seen the ultrasound scan, found out the gender. I am very fortunate in that I can only imagine the depth of that kind of loss. It must be difficult to open up about something so personal, but I admire Kimberly's decision to share her miscarriage story. I think it always helps to know that we're not alone.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan revealed that they had been trying for years to have a baby, suffering three miscarriages before conceiving daughter Max, who was born in November 2015.
"You feel hopeful when you learn you’re going to have a child," he explained. "You start imagining who they’ll become and dreaming of hopes for the future. You start making plans and then they’re gone. It’s a lonely experience. Most people don’t discuss miscarriages because you worry your problems will distance you, or reflect upon you – as if you’re defective or you did something to cause this. So you struggle on your own.” (REX USA)
Nicole Kidman said of her fertility troubles in 2012, "I had tried and failed and failed and failed. Not to be too detailed, but I’ve had an ectopic pregnancy, miscarriages and I’ve had fertility treatments. I’ve done all the stuff you can possibly do to try get pregnant." The actress is mom to adopted children Connor and Bella, daughter Sunday Rose, who she gave birth to, and daughter Faith Margaret, who was born via surrogate. (INF)
In 2015, actress Eva Amurri revealed that she suffered a miscarriage when she was 9 weeks pregnant with her second child. "What I don’t have, and what I never will have, is this one little angel who has slipped away from me," she wrote. "And while it will take time for me to make peace with that fact, it gives me a lot of solace knowing that I told– that I have shared its existence with you, that it mattered, and that we loved it. And that will have to do.” (PR Photos)
Jack Osbourne's wife Lisa had the difficult task of telling the world they'd suffered a second-trimester loss in the fall of 2013. She shared at the time, "Having a late term miscarriage is by far the hardest thing either of us have ever had to go through." (PR Photos)
Actress Jane Seymour, a mom of four, shared in 2011: “I actually lost a pregnancy live on television, announcing the Rose Parade, but nobody knew at the time." (INF)
Two days after Beyonce gave birth to daughter Blue Ivy in 2012, her husband Jay-Z released a song that revealed their miscarriage pain. Lyrics included, “Last time the miscarriage was so tragic/ We was afraid you’d disappear/ But nah baby, you magic." (REX USA)
While undergoing IVF treatments that eventually led to the birth of twins Nelson and Eddy in 2010, singer Celine Dion shared openly, "They said that I was pregnant, and a couple of days after, we were not pregnant again. We didn't want to feel like we were playing yo-yo. 'I'm pregnant. I'm not pregnant. I'm pregnant. I'm not pregnant.' So we didn't want to do this thing. But we did have a miscarriage... I never gave up. But I can tell you that it was physically and emotionally exhausting.” (INF)
In late 2010, journalist Lisa Ling revealed she had suffered a miscarriage earlier in the year. "We actually [hadn't] been trying that long," she said during an appearance on The View. "I don't know that I took it as seriously as I should have because [the pregnancy] happened so fast. But then when I heard the doctor say there was no heartbeat it was like—bam—like a knife through the heart."
Lisa and her husband Paul Song welcomed daughter Jett in 2013, and it was announced in December 2015 that they are expecting another child. (INF)
In late 2010, singer Pink talked about her pregnancy with daughter Willow to Ellen DeGeneres. "I was just really nervous," the singer said of going public with the baby news. “I have had a miscarriage before.” (INF)
Singer Lily Allen has experienced both a miscarriage and stillbirth. "I think even though what happened to us is beyond devastating, it’s made me realize what I have got, which I don’t think I ever really did before," she's said.
Lily and her husband Sam Cooper are now parents to daughters Ethel and Marnie. (INF)
Duck Dynasty stars Jase and Missy Robertson opened up about their loss in 2014. "I was about eight to 10 weeks along when I miscarried, just enough time to be excited about it and start telling everyone,” she said. “I’d heard of tubal pregnancies for years, but didn’t really understand the mental anguish of actually having to go in and have someone remove what could’ve been your child." (BEImages/Henry Lamb/Photowire)
"I get pregnant pretty easily, but I have a hard time keeping them,” Cougar Town star Courteney Cox said in 2003. She and her ex-husband David Arquette are parents to daughter Coco, born in 2004. (INF)
Hugh Jackman and his wife Deborra Lee Furness have been open about their struggles to conceive. In 2012, the actor said: "It’s interesting — until you go through it, you realize it’s not talked about a lot... We did IVF and Deb had a couple of miscarriages. And it was actually, I’ll never forget it — the miscarriage thing is also — apparently it happens to one in three pregnancies. But it’s very rarely talked about. It’s almost secretive, you know?" (INF)
After Kelsey Grammer and Kayte Walsh lost their first pregnancy to miscarriage in 2010, they were thrilled to be expecting twins in 2012. Upon the birth of their daughter Faith in July, the actor announced, "Tragically, we lost the little boy." (INF)
Kirstie Alley, mother of two adopted children, wrote in her 2005 book, "When the baby was gone, I just didn't really get over it. Neither did my body. I so thoroughly convinced my body that it was still pregnant after nine months that I had milk coming from my breasts. I was still fat, I was still grieving, and I had just been told it was very possible I would never be able to have children. Fat, childless, with little hope for any future children...that's when I began to get fat." (INF)
Speaking of her hard road to motherhood, actress Emma Thompson has shared, "There's been an awful lot of grief to get through in not being able to get pregnant again, but there are thousands and thousands of women like me who can't have children." The Oscar-winner gave birth to daughter Gaia in 1999, and informally adopted a Rwandan refugee named Tindyebwa Agaba in 2003. (PR Photos)
Sharon Stone is now happily mom to adopted sons Roan, Laird and Quinn, but her journey to motherhood included numerous miscarriages. "The last time I lost the baby… I went into 36 hours of labor," the actress shared in early 2012. "While we were at the hospital, our adoption attorney called. I thought, ‘This is such a godsend. This is so right.” (INF)
Speaking of her devastating miscarriage in 2010, Giuliana Rancic shared, "It was several months of guilt and sadness. And finally, I think we just came together and we said, 'There's got to be a bigger plan here, right? There has got to be a reason.'" While preparing to undergo IVF the E! News host was told she had breast cancer. After a double mastectomy, she and her husband Bill Rancic turned to surrogacy. Edward Duke Rancic was born on August 29, 2012. (REX USA)
Lindsay Lohan's miscarriage news surprised many in April 2014. She shared of her experience, "I couldn’t move, I was sick. Mentally, that messes with you." (PR Photos)
Mariah Carey suffered a miscarriage before she and her now ex-husband Nick Cannon welcomed their twins Monroe and Moroccan in 2011. “It kind of shook us both and took us into a place that was really dark and difficult. When that happened ... I wasn't able to even talk to anybody about it,” the singer has said. “That was not easy." (INF)
Gwyneth Paltrow shared in 2013, "[Apple and Moses] ask me to have a baby all the time. And you never know, I could squeeze one more in. I am missing my third. I’m thinking about it. But I had a really bad experience when I was pregnant with my third. It didn’t work out and I nearly died." (INF)
Bethenny Frankel, mother of Bryn Hoppy, revealed in early 2012 she had recently lost a pregnancy. "We were pregnant with a second baby and at eight weeks I miscarried," she shared. "That was a very emotional experience and it had a lot of different things that came with it." (INF)
While showing off twin daughters Finley and Harper to People magazine in 2009, Lisa Marie Presley shared, "My blood was too thick and would clot, which caused several miscarriages. The moment I took blood thinners, I got pregnant." (INF)
When questioned about her pregnancy history by a guest on The View in 2011, Barbara Walters answered, "No, I haven't [been in labor]... Just because you've brought it up, I've had three miscarriages but I know what it's like to be pregnant." She adopted daughter Jacqueline in 1986. (INF)
In the summer of 2014, actress Elisabetta Canalis opened up about her miscarriage pain, sharing, "We can only accept it. I just want to say that I feel you close, if you are suffering as I am doing. We can’t deny it, it’s like an incessant sorrow you can’t get rid of."
Elisabetta and her husband Brian Perri welcomed daughter Skyler in September 2015. (REX USA/Rob Latour)
Regarding her experience undergoing IVF and suffering a miscarriage, Brooke Shields said, "We were crushed. Up till then, I thought simply because it was time and I wanted to have a baby, it would work out." She went on to give birth to daughters Rowan and Grier. (INF)
Just for fun, imagine you're a celebrity mom-to-be. How would you go about confirming (or hiding) your pregnancy?