Bake Off’s Laura Adlington told to lose 14st to have a child: ‘It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever gone through’-Meghna Amin-Entertainment – Metro

Laura has opened up about her infertility struggles (Picture: Channel 4)

Great British Bake Off star Laura Adlington has revealed she was told to lose 14stone to have a child, and has now made the decision to not have children.

The 33-year-old, who was a finalist on the 2020 series, tried for a baby for three years with her husband Matt, before doctors told her to go down the IVF route, for which she would have to lose weight first.

She said: ‘My husband Matt and I were really struggling with infertility.

‘It got to the point when all our friends and family were starting to have babies and that was very upsetting.

‘I was really happy for them, but it was just a reminder of what I couldn’t have.’

Laura continued to The Sun’s Fabulous Magazine that the ‘heartache of really wanting and it not happening’ was the ‘hardest thing I’ve ever gone through.

‘I felt like if I couldn’t be a mum, what’s the point? I’d always wanted to be a mother and it wasn’t happening.

Laura was a finalist on the 2020 series (Picture: Mark Bourdillon / Channel 4)

‘I’ve never thought, “I want to take my own life,”, but I definitely have had thoughts that I didn’t want to be here anymore.’

Laura admitted that she phoned helpline Samaritans ‘on a few occasions’, and said she felt the benefits from the calls, whether she broke down in tears during them or spent time talking to the person on the other end.

After struggling with infertility, Laura was told she had to lose 14st in order to qualify for IVF.

Laura found solace in Samaritans’ helpline (Picture: Kate Peters/PA)

She added that she tried to lose weight and even considered weight loss surgery, but came to the realisation that it wasn’t for her.

‘It was difficult — people say we obviously didn’t want it enough because I would have lost the weight to have the IVF.

‘But it was such a lot to lose — about 14st and I just struggled to do that,’ she added.

Laura credits taking part in the popular Channel 4 baking competition, where she reached the finals, with helping her get through the difficult times she was facing.

Laura launched her self-love podcast earlier this year (Picture: Channel 4 / Crowd Network)

However, she has been subject to vile online hatred and trolling, which she has previously spoken about, saying it made her feel like she’d ‘murdered someone’.

While it does still ‘bother’ her, the baker admitted that she’s developing a ‘thick skin’, and takes note of the thousands of really nice messages amid the ‘horrible’ few.

She’s urging for more to be done to protect people online, saying: ‘It’s quite scary how quickly people can contact you.’

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She elsewhere spoke about coming to the realisation that ‘life is really precious’, and that she doesn’t want to waste her life ‘worrying that I’m not a Kardashian or a Victoria’s Secret model.

‘Let’s embrace ourselves!’ the Body Positivity podcaster added, saying that she’s now in a ‘really good place’.

The Great British Bake Off continues on Tuesday at 8pm on Channel 4.

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