Richie Sadlier gave a remarkable interview on The Tommy Tiernan Show last night, opening up on the struggles he and his wife Fiona went through before the arrival of their son Sam last month.
The couple had been down a long and arduous arduous road in their attempts to start a family. They would undergo four cycles of IVF treatment in recent years, none of which resulted in pregnancy. Amazingly, their first child would then be conceived naturally.
Sam was born last month, with the RTÉ pundit sharing an emotional message on Instagram at the time.
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Richie Sadlier opens up on experiences with IVF
Richie Sadlier appeared on The Tommy Tiernan Show last night, having an open and frank discussion around how the struggles to conceive a child affected him and his wife over the years. He also described the emotion they felt when they unexpectedly fell pregnant by natural means.
“I am only recently at the stage where I can say the phrase ‘my son’ without crying.”@RichieSadlier tells @Tommedian about his and his wife’s journey to parenthood.#TommyTiernanShow pic.twitter.com/S2JwhRwPgE
— RTÉ One (@RTEOne) March 11, 2023
I've held lots of babies before, my nieces and nephews. They're great and they're tiny little things, but I never knew what it would be like to hold one of my own. For years, we thought we couldn't and wouldn't.
I've had years of wanting to be a dad and just expecting that as soon as meeting someone that I wanted to be a parent with, and they wanted to be a parent at the same time, we would have kids. That's just the way it's going to go.
That's not the way it went for us. We had years of wondering 'maybe we won't, maybe we never will, but we really want to so lets keep trying'. We were thinking 'do we need to strop trying', all this kind of craic.
We did a round of IVF every year for four years. Nothing worked...
Every time we did them we thought 'brilliant, this is going to work'. We were convinced it would work all the time, it never entered our heads that it wouldn't. It never did.
I knew it was expensive and that's all I knew. What I didn't know was the heartache of it not working. I completely underestimated that...
On our third wedding anniversary last year, Fiona said she was a couple of days late. She did a test and was pregnant. We thought 'how did this happen', we were told it couldn't happen naturally. We were also told, for different reasons, that if we did get pregnant using Fiona's eggs there was a higher chance of foetal abnormality.
Every scan was a big event, but every scan went really well...
I've forgotten about (the stress). I'm reminded of it now because we're chatting about it. He was born on a Friday.
I'm only recently at the stage where I can say the phrase 'my son' without crying. Every time I talk about it or think about it in any depth, I kind of get like this.
When he came out, all that other shite we had gone through, none of that matters now. It just doesn't matter...
I'm going to have to get used to talking about him without crying. We called him Sam. His two granddads are both called John, so John is the middle name.
His name is Sam John Sadlier, and he's the most perfect thing they'd ever see.
It was a remarkable interview, one which broached an important subject in society that is still considered difficult to discuss by many.
As a result, the former Ireland international received a huge amount of praise for his appearance on the show.
What an outstanding interview with @Tommedian. That was as engaging an interview as I have ever witnessed and your humility shines through. You should be very proud of that @RichieSadlier. Well done and you're a credit to your family. pic.twitter.com/P9RvGxbmXz
— Gerard Quinlivan (@GerardQuinlivan) March 11, 2023
Sam John Sadlier is a very lucky boy to have a dad like Richie Sadlier.
That was some interview. 👏 #tommytiernanshow— Marcus Ó Buachalla (@ohfadabee) March 11, 2023
Great to see two men talking about IVF and parenthood, from the heart, on Saturday night telly in Ireland.
Wishing you all the best on this new beautiful, crazy journey @RichieSadlier ⭐️#tommytiernanshow @Tommedian— Melanie Ryberg (she/her) ☮️ 💛 🧠 (@melanieryberg) March 11, 2023
This is my favourite #tommytiernanshow interview yet. Thank you @RichieSadlier @Tommedian
— Jane Dunleavy (@Janiedunleavy) March 11, 2023
Richie sadlier on #tommytiernanshow is the most intelligent, beautiful & empathetic man! If more men were like him we’d been in a better place.
— Roisin (@RoRoSuperRo) March 11, 2023
Richie Sadlier is an absolutely fascinating person. If you haven't read his book, it's well worth a read. As open and honest as his interview here. #tommytiernanshow
— James O'Donoghue (@odonoghuejames) March 11, 2023
A great interview with @RichieSadlier
IVF, isn't an easy subject to talk about. It's a long, arduous journey, with lots of highs & lows. Such an emotional rollercoaster for everyone involved. Congrats on the new arrival & I wish you all the best for the future #tommytiernanshow— Adrian Heneghan (@Adrianheneghan) March 11, 2023
Richie💙 an absolute role model. Your vulnerabilities, your experiences, and everything else, you have brought them to the fore and spoken about them, to help others. I hope it has all helped you. You’re a gem. Your son is so lucky @RichieSadlier #tommytiernanshow
— Wayne Jacob (@Wayne_Jacob_) March 11, 2023
That was such a gorgeous interview with Richie Sadlier. He is just so grateful and proud to finally be a parent and I feel that intensely #tommytiernanshow
— Clair Kelly (@wheresclair) March 11, 2023
Brilliant stuff.
The couple deserve nothing but happiness after what they've been through over the last few years.
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