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“I feel like once I understood my options, I felt so much more at peace and empowered about doing something for me,” Griffin tells PEOPLE
NEED TO KNOW
- Chelsea Griffin says freezing her eggs after her divorce has empowered her to take control of her future
- The Love Is Blind alum hopes sharing her journey helps break stigmas around fertility assistance and egg freezing
- Pacific Northwest Fertility reports a 217% increase in egg freezing cycles since 2020 as more women plan proactively
Chelsea Griffin is taking full control of her future and not giving up on her dream to become a mother.
After the Love Is Blind alum split from husband Kwame Appiah, whom she met and married on season four of the popular Netflix series, she found herself in a tough place. Griffin, 35, explains that the ending of her marriage prompted her to “look in the mirror and make some important decisions about my life.”
“My life took a change, and I’d been married for four years, and that chapter came to a close,” Griffin tells PEOPLE. “I’m 35 years old, and I had to look in the mirror and make some important decisions about my life and my fertility because I’ve always wanted to be a mom.”
Between the closing of one chapter and her desire to have a family of her own, Griffin ultimately decided to take control of her own motherhood journey by freezing her eggs. Now, as she begins the process at Pacific Northwest Fertility, she says the process has been “so empowering” for her, adding it has “changed the way that I see my future.”
“Knowledge gives us confidence, and I feel like once I understood my options, I felt so much more at peace and empowered about doing something for me,” she shares.
“The choice really isn’t about fear,” Griffin adds. “It’s about freedom, and it’s about hope and resilience, and really that I can take control of the future and hopefully have the one that I want, and that’s to be a mom.”
Since starting the egg freezing process, Griffin tells PEOPLE the prospect of motherhood has “just gotten a lot more real” for her. While it’s always been a dream for her, she says taking control of her journey in this way allows her to live her life without fear.
“[Motherhood]’s always been a dream, and something that’s always been in my heart and my brain and my future, and I knew when the time is right for me, it will come,” she says. “The ending of my marriage is so devastating, and this secures that for me and makes my chances of having that a lot higher, and allows me to not live with the fear, and frantically date people to find the husband of my child.”
She adds, “Rather, I can just have time, live with ease, know that my eggs are safe and secure, and ready for me if I need them.”
For Griffin, the entire process has been seamless. She explains the care team at Pacific Northwest Fertility has helped her to feel so “supported” during this time and in her decision.
“Pacific Northwest Fertility is an amazing clinic, and they have really answered my questions, and I felt so supported. They’re like family to me, and I’ve felt incredibly lucky to work with such an amazing team,” she says. “I met with my doctor, and I just instantly clicked with her and the vibes were just flowing. It felt great; she answered my questions and I felt comfortable.”
By sharing her journey publicly, she tells PEOPLE she hopes to break the negative stigma surrounding egg freezing and fertility assistance. She believes by being vulnerable and allowing people to see her navigate her own journey, it will create a safe space for other women and encourage them to find out more about their fertility.
“I mean, you’re growing up in your 30s, and everyone’s around you getting married and having babies, and if any one of those steps in the process is more difficult for you, it’s painful and it’s challenging, and it’s hard seeing everyone else go through these milestones that you wish you were at,” she says. “When we share with other people parts of our journey or where we’re struggling in that continuum, I just think we can be better supported.”
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Echoing her sentiments, Dr. Stephanie Rothenberg, a reproductive endocrinologist at Pacific Northwest Fertility, notes that more women are taking control of their futures.
“At Pacific Northwest Fertility, we’ve seen a 217% increase in egg freezing cycles since 2020, reflecting a growing trend of women taking a proactive approach to family planning,” says Rothenberg. “Whether driven by career, education, financial goals, or personal timing, more women are choosing to preserve their fertility than ever before.”
She adds, “I’m proud to support Chelsea on her egg freezing journey and help women feel empowered to build a family on their own timeline.”
Griffin says she hopes that sharing her journey will allow women to “release control” and will help others achieve the life they want.
“If sharing my experience helps one woman realize that she has more options that she may not have known about, then it’s worth it for me,” she says. “If it helps one woman get to her women’s health doctor and find out more information about her body and her egg reserve, then that’s worth it for me.”
Read the original article on People
