Trigger Warning: The following story contains mentions of pregnancy loss and infertility.
Former Vanderpump Rules star Kristen Doute revealed to listeners of her Sex, Love and What Else Matters podcast that she recently suffered a miscarriage while trying to conceive her first child with boyfriend Luke Broderick.
The 40-year-old, who was six weeks along in her pregnancy at the time, opened up about the experience on this week’s episode, calling the loss “f**king terrifying.”
“I only feel comfortable talking about this because I know so many friends of mine have gone through this,” Kristen said. “I know so many women have been through this.”
Kristen explained to listeners that her pregnancy was not viable and considered a “blighted ovum.” (According to the Mayo Clinic, the term “blighted ovum” is now known as an “anembryonic pregnancy,” which occurs when an embryo never forms or stops forming and is reabsorbed by the body.)
“You always think, ‘What’s wrong, what did I do wrong? Could I have done something different?’” Kristen said. “And my doctor and my friends have told me, inside and out, up and down, there’s no cause. They don’t know why [this happened].
“ … The only silver lining, the fact that we’ve now been digesting this for the last four or five days, is that I know once Luke and I are past this, we can try again,” she continued.
Kristen told listeners she and Luke conceived “so quickly” and are “hopeful to have a very healthy pregnancy the next time around.”
“We were so so lucky, because it could have gone a different way for me at my age,” she added. “I haven’t gone through IVF, I haven’t frozen my eggs, I haven’t done anything. I just think there’s sometime in God’s plan.”
Kristen and Luke began dating in 2022 and the couple revealed last month on Kristen’s podcast that they are hoping to become parents.
At the time, Kristen told listeners that she had received the go-ahead from her OBGYN to begin trying to conceive. She also revealed that a psychic told her she would have a baby boy “somewhere between [the age of] 41 and 42.”
(For the record, Kristen will celebrate her 41st birthday on February 17.)
RELATED STORY: Christine Brown, Ariana Madix & Tori Deal Named Among Variety’s “40 Most Powerful Women On Reality TV In 2023”
(Photos: Instagram)
I had 2 miscarriages in my life. One at age 19 when I was 4 months along. That baby had hydrocephalus and would’ve had many medical problems that I would have had to deal with alone. (The father died in a car accident 1.5 years later) The second was similar to Kristen. Positive pregnancy test, and bleeding several days later. I went on to have a healthy boy at age 38. He’s my life and joy!