Rebuilding with Christina Bailey: Reciprocal IVF, Finding Love and Winning Your Embryos Back After Divorce
Julia and Christina Bailey engage in a heartfelt conversation about the challenges and triumphs of healing from divorce, falling in love, fertility and creating a family in a same-sex relationship. We discuss her first fertility journey using reciprocal IVF with her ex wife - she used her eggs and her ex carried. We discuss Christina’s heartbreak over her divorce and her experience parenting through the pain and how she slowly re-emerged and started dating again. In a brand new relationship, she communicated to her girlfriend, “I am expanding my family, are you on board?”. A conversation which resulted in a set of twins.
Drawing strength from Glennon Doyle's words, "You Can Do the Hard Things," Christina's openness highlights her resilience and the transformative power of her experiences.
IN THIS EPISODE:
[00:00] Julia introduces Christina Bailey and discusses her journey with infertility
[03:51] Christina shares why she decided to share her fertility journey publicly and the difficulty in creating a family in a same-sex relationship
[12:04] Christian reflects on how she thought her life would unfold as a young adult and the shock she felt when served with divorce papers
[16:55] How divorce affects your mental state and the resources you can lean on
[22:25] Christina discusses starting to date after a ten-year marriage and what she has learned about herself in that process
[33:21] Christian talks about her new partner and being authentic about wanting to have more children
[40:20] The ups and downs of getting pregnant and the path Christian took to have twins
[50:26] What happens to embryos post-divorce, and what advice Christina has regarding that process
[56:34] Christian explains her definition of family
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
A lawyer should be involved when you venture into embryo retrieval and dispensing those embryos in case of divorce.
Dating after a divorce may clarify who you are and what you want in a partner.
It is critical to have the support of family and friends when going through a divorce and an infertility journey.
RESOURCE LINKS:
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