The Strictly Come Dancing judge has been with his wife Hannah Summers since 2012
Strictly judge Anton Du Beke has discussed his wife’s painful struggle with endometriosis and the impact it had on them becoming parents. The BBC star married marketing executive Hannah Summers in 2017, after first crossing paths at Wentworth Golf Club in Surrey in 2012.
The couple welcomed twins George and Henrietta shortly following their marriage, after undergoing IVF treatment. Anton disclosed on Giovanna Fletcher’s Happy mum Happy Baby podcast that Hannah had reservations about their chances of conceiving due to her condition.
The professional dancer confessed he “couldn’t understand the universe” after observing Hannah’s interactions with her nephews, before delving into their IVF journey.
He said: “I knew I wanted to be with her, I saw her with her nephews. She’s so kind and so caring, I just couldn’t understand the universe.”, reports Lancs Live.
Anton added: “And whoever is upstairs, if anyone’s upstairs, looking down and going ‘you are the most perfect person to have children, but I’m not going to let you have any children because I’m going to give you this’.
“And I’m going to say ‘you’re going to have this endometriosis, and you’re going to suffer with this all of your life, chronically, and I’m not going to let you have any children.”
Anton openly discussed the challenges he and his wife Hannah faced during their IVF journey, which ultimately strengthened their bond. The treatment proved successful on their first go, leading to the arrival of their twins, George and Henrietta, in 2017, with the couple tying the knot later that year.
During a conversation with Giovanna, he revealed his earlier ‘ignorance’ about endometriosis and stressed the need for greater government investment in women’s healthcare.
Looking back on their experience, he said: “Then we went through the process of IVF, well crying out loud. You girls are extraordinary.
As much as I want to get involved, all I can do is hold your hand. It makes me emotional every time I talk about it. The injections, the stress, the anxiety. I have anxiety and stress but it’s not my body.”
He added: “She has these injections and the bruises in the bum, in the thigh, in the stomach. And you’re trying to help but what can you do? Whatever you want, tell me and I’ll do it but that’s all you have and it’s horrendous as a man to watch it.
You feel so inadequate and you want to do so much more but I can’t do anything. And that’s why you girls are so extraordinary, you’re extraordinary that you do all this stuff.”
