John Legend Openly Discusses Infertility, & Parents Who Have Struggled Will Relate

Chrissy Teigen has never been shy about sharing what's on her mind — and in the last few years, as she's grown her family, she's been incredibly open with fans about the challenges with fertility she and John Legend have faced. (She's also been more than willing to clap back at the haters, a move that I think everyone can salute her for.) Teigen's willingness to share her story has helped reduce stigma and open up a national conversation, but she hasn't had to do it alone: John Legend's quotes about infertility struggles with Chrissy Teigen prove he's also willing to open up, honestly, about the challenges they've faced.

Speaking to Cosmopolitan recently, Legend said that trying to have a baby is "a big challenge" for any couple, really — but that adding struggles with infertility to the mix just increases the difficulty of that challenge. However, he also clearly believes those struggles can strengthen a couple in the end:

Going through that together strengthens your bond, because if you make it through [having a child], you know you can make it through anything. You want to feel like everything’s working properly and want everything to be perfect, but sometimes it’s not.

Legend also spoke to Mr. Porter<Who/what is Mr. Porter? I don't think it's a well-known news source, so let's describe it for the reader, because I thought it was a person! in December last year about what led him and Teigen down the in vitro fertilization road in the first place. He said they'd been trying to conceive naturally for several years before they finally sought professional help. "We figured eventually we’d have to go into the doctor and see why it wasn’t happening naturally," he said. Legend continued:

He’s never really told us that there was something specific that he could identify was the reason why it just didn’t work out naturally. We did what we had to do. ... You know, sometimes it’s just harder for some people than for others.

In February this year, he made it clear that couples who are having fertility struggles should do what's right for them, regardless of stigma. "There are some who look down on people that have fertility issues and need to use IVF," he told Newsweek. "We’re glad we had Luna the way we did, and hopefully we’ll have a few more kids through IVF. We think it’s a viable issue for people having fertility issues and encourage people that can’t have kids the old-fashioned way to do it the way we’ve done it."

I think Legend nailed it with that last quote — "We're glad we had Luna the way we did" — because it really gets at the heart of the issue. Legend and Teigen have been wanting a child for years. Now they have the adorable Luna, thanks to IVF, and they couldn't be happier. So why wouldn't he and Teigen encourage people to pursue their dream of having a family, no matter how they get there?