‘Finally': Tanya Hennessy's huge news after 7-year health battle
The Australian comedian, who rose to viral fame with her 'realistic make-up tutorial' in 2017, has been candid about her struggle to conceive after being diagnosed with endometriosis at 35.
Despite undergoing six rounds of IVF, a painful and emotionally challenging fertility treatment that has no guarantee of success, the 39-year-old revealed earlier this year she was still no closer to her dream of becoming a mum.
But the popular personality has just revealed that her seventh round, which costs on average between $9000 to $15,000 in Australia, has been successful as she's expecting with her husband Tom Poole.
Appearing on this Sunday's cover of Body+Soul, Hennessy can be seen wearing a pale blue gown as she cradled her blossoming baby bump.
'This kid is going to be so uncomfortably loved,' a quote on the magazine's front page reads.
She also took to her own social media to share a video of a recent ultrasound, captioning the emotional clip: 'We're having a baby!!! Finally after 7 years!!!'
Fans and a stream of well-known Aussie personalities have been quick to send Hennessy their best wishes, with many describing it as 'the best news'.
'NO STOP IT I AM SO HAPPY FOR YOU,' wrote former reality star turned podcast host Brittany Hockley.
'Congratulations, you're gonna be the best mumma,' said fitness influencer Steph Claire Smith.
While Bec Judd added: 'Oh babe – this is the best. Thrilled for you.'
Hennessy's painful struggle with infertility
Hennessy, who married long-term partner Tom Poole last year in September, has been vocal about the toll IVF takes – previously explaining that she had assumed it wouldn't be so hard to fall pregnant while undergoing the costly fertility treatment.
'You hear about the destination, and you don't hear about the journey,' she told news.com.au in March last year after finishing her sixth unsuccessful round.
'I know these doctors are trying their absolute hardest, and I've done everything and I'm trying my hardest, but it hasn't happened.'
She also touched on the 'brutal' emotional rollercoaster of hope that comes with undergoing IVF treatment, explaining she has suffered 'rashes from stress'.
'I just don't have much left in the tank to keep doing it. I said I wouldn't talk about (it) anymore. But it's eating me alive,' she said.
'I'm so embarrassed because every time I hear about that IVF miracle or that natural conception before/after IVF. I think that could be me, but it never is. It never is.'
Undiagnosed for years
The popular comedian struggled to fall pregnant because she has endometriosis, a condition that causes endometrial tissue, which is similar to that which lines the uterus, to grow outside of the uterus – usually in areas like the ovaries and fallopian tubes as well as on organs such as the bladder, bowel, vagina and cervix.
In several extreme cases, it has even been found in the lungs and brain.
Symptoms and severity varies from person to person, but for many it can lead to crippling physical pain.
About one in three women who have endometriosis struggle with fertility and find it difficult to get pregnant.
Hennessy has stage four endometriosis, stating she lives with discomfort and heavy periods as a result, but sadly it took many years for her to be diagnosed.
'No one chooses infertility. No one chooses to go through IVF, because if there was any way I didn't have to do it, I would do that,' she told the Today Show previously.
'I am going through it. I'm in a depth of infertility sadness. Because of endometriosis.
'We are on round six on IVF with almost nothing to show. Its inexplicably painful, sad (and expensive). The thought of stopping is even harder than continuing. Cause if I stop I know the outcome.'
Weight loss during her infertility journey
The comedian has also been open about losing weight as part of her infertility journey, which she discussed on Stellar's Magazine's 'Something To Talk About' podcast recently.
'People are really curious about it. I lost a lot of weight, because I needed to, and I needed to quite quickly, because I've been doing IVF since I was 34 and now I'm 39,' the star explained.
'I feel different, but I also understand why people want to comment on it, because I look different. I get it.
'But also, this is the shape and size I was when I started creating. I gained 50kg within a couple of years because I was prioritising work. I was eating really badly, I was very stressed. I gained a lot of weight in the media, and then I was like, can we just not talk about my body? Can I just be a creative being who isn't their body?'
'A beacon of hope' for others in the pits of infertility
News of Hennessy's pregnancy has also bought joy to the approximately 1 in 6 Australian couples who are currently experiencing infertility.
Data shows around 1 in every 18 babies in Australia are now born through IVF, with a record high number of births recorded in the annual report from medical researchers at the University of New South Wales.
Statistics show a record 18,594 babies were born in Australia as a result of IVF treatment in 2021, while the 102,157 cycles of IVF performed across the country that year was a 17 per cent increase on 2020.
'As someone who has been trying to get pregnant for 4 years, usually pregnancy announcements make me sad, but this one just put a big smile on my face. I'm so happy for you, you so deserve to be a mum,' one fan wrote on Hennessy's recent announcement.
'From someone who has been on this IVF journey alongside you, please take in everyone moment. This brings me so much joy and hope,' another shared.
While one wrote: 'Thank you for sharing this journey, it helps the TTC (trying to conceive) community no end.'
Others were simply delighted for the star, declaring: 'I've never been so happy for someone I've never met before.'
'OH MY GOD I AUDIBLY GASPED I AM SO HAPPY FOR YOU,' said one.
'Never been so happy for a stranger before! You guys deserve this so much,' said someone else.
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