Stacey Dooley has opened up about suffering an ectopic pregnancy, which led to emergency surgery. The 38-year-old presenter, who shares a two-year-old daughter, Minnie, with her partner, Strictly Come Dancing professional dancer Kevin Clifton, broke down in tears during an episode of her series, Stacey Dooley Sleeps Over, as she described the "really [expletive] difficult" experience. Ectopic pregnancy occurs when a fertilised egg implants outside the uterus, most commonly in one of the fallopian tubes.
Stacey shared that she suffered an "internal rupture" and underwent emergency surgery during the episode, which featured the UK's first legally recognised gay father, Barrie Drewitt-Barlow. "I have experienced what it is like to struggle to have a child," she said. "We obviously wanted to expand our family and last year I fell pregnant and it didn't go brilliantly.
"It was ectopic... I am so sorry because this is so predictable. I am sat here crying on a bed. It was ectopic and it was really [expletive] difficult," continued Stacey. "There was an internal rupture and there had to be emergency surgery. Of course, when you go through something like that, you are forced to think of alternatives. [Expletive] happens, and if you want a bigger family, you have to think how you're going to do that."
Stacey's family life
Stacey welcomed her daughter, Minnie, with her partner, Kevin, in 2023. Opening up about motherhood, Stacey told HELLO! last year: "Becoming a mother myself, I have a whole newfound respect for my own mum. It changes the dynamics. I have an amazing partner, a stable job, a home, no massive complications, and it's still so daunting and knackering at times." She added, "My mum was a single parent before meeting my stepdad, and I just have no idea how single parents do it. Actual heroes, honestly."
The presenter spoke of her hopes of having more children in an interview with The Guardian in March earlier this year. "I would like to have more children, but it's not a given, is it?" she said, before expressing regret about not starting a family sooner. The former Strictly champion shared: "Other mums were always destined to be mums. They knew. It was non-negotiable for them. But I didn't have that thought. If I'd started sooner, I could have had more; I might have had two, or three, or four. But you have to be realistic about these things. Like, biologically."