Figure skater and now "Dancing with the Stars" (DWTS) contestant Nancy Kerrigan revealed she suffered six miscarriages. The Olympic medalist recounted her devastating loss in a video before her performance on the dance show Monday.
Kerrigan married sports talent agent Jerry Solomon in 1995. They have a son, Matthew, who was born the following year.
Kerrigan was living the life of a happy newlywed and new mom with a successful professional career. After bearing Matthew, however, the skater suffered a series of miscarriages. She recounted she had "at least six," as per People.
"It made me feel like a failure," Kerrigan said. "It was really hard, actually, it almost felt shameful I think, because I couldn't do it on my own," she added, while talking to her "DWTS" dance partner Artem Chigvintsev in the video, as per Page Six.
Doctors couldn't figure out what caused her condition and she was unable to have another child for eight years. She also struggled with explaining what a miscarriage was to her young son who was eager to be a big brother.
"He asked why and we had to explain, 'Because it's dead. It's not alive anymore," Kerrigan said. "That was awful."
Kerrigan, now 47, said her husband also struggled with the baby loss and it was for this reason that she was determined to keep trying having more babies. The couple turned to IVF treatments to boost their chances of conception.
They succeeded with having two more children. Brian was born in 2005 and Nicole was born in 2008.
"Now we're outnumbered!" Kerrigan remarked about her family. "We fought hard for this family, and I want to say to my kids through this dance, never give up," Kerrigan said.
Today, the couple's kids are grown-ups charting their own dreams. Matthew is a costume designer and Brian is a gymnast. Nicole, on the other hand, is into ballet.
