Strictly judge Anton Du Beke has opened up on his wife’s cruel battle with endometriosis and how that affected their chances of having children.
The BBC star married his marketing executive wife, Hannah, in 2017, after meeting at Wentworth Golf Club in Surrey in 2012. The couple welcomed twins George and Henrietta shortly after tying the knot after going through IVF.
However, Anton, 58, revealed on Giovanna Fletcher’s Happy Mum Happy Baby podcast that Hannah didn’t believe they were going to be able to have children because of the painful condition.
The professional dancer admitted he “couldn’t understand the universe” after watching Hannah with her nephews before opening up on their IVF journey.
He said: “I knew I wanted to be with her, I saw her with her nephews. She’s so kind and so caring, I just couldn’t understand the universe.
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“And whoever is upstairs, if anyone’s upstairs, looking down and going ‘you are the most perfect person to have children, but I’m not going to let you have any children because I’m going to give you this’.
“And I’m going to say ‘you’re going to have this endometriosis, and you’re going to suffer with this all of your life, chronically, and I’m not going to let you have any children.
“I thought that was peculiar, cruel, and inexplicable and unforgivable. And if ever I go up to somewhere and meet this person I would say ‘I think you’re not OK with decisions like this, this doesn’t make any sense to me.”
Anton previously admitted the couple found IVF ‘tough’ but that it brought him and businesswoman Hannah closer together. Thankfully the IVF worked on Anton and Hannah’s first attempt. They welcomed twins George and Henrietta in 2017, before marrying that same year.
Anton told Giovanna that, before meeting, he had never heard of endometriosis and believes that the government needs to invest more money on women’s health.
He said: “Then we went through the process of IVF, well crying out loud. You girls are extraordinary. As much as I want to get involved, all I can do is hold your hand. It makes me emotional every time I talk about it. The injections, the stress, the anxiety. I have anxiety and stress but it’s not my body.
“She has these injections and the bruises in the bum, in the thigh, in the stomach. And you’re trying to help but what can you do? Whatever you want, tell me and I’ll do it but that’s all you have and it’s horrendous as a man to watch it.
“You feel so inadequate and you want to do so much more but I can’t do anything. And that’s why you girls are so extraordinary, you’re extraordinary that you do all this stuff.”