Greg Wise revealed that unsuccessful attempts at in vitro fertilization triggered a serious crisis in his marriage to actress Emma Thompson. According to him, the two found themselves “cut off” from each other, and therapy ultimately helped them restore their relationship.
The actor spoke about the experience on the podcast How To Fail with Elizabeth Day. He explained that the two decided to start a family after being in a relationship for three or four years, but initially discovered that conceiving would not be easy.
The first attempt led to the birth of Gaia
Wise said that he and Thompson traveled to New York for an IVF procedure. During the first attempt, doctors identified a four-cell embryo, and three embryos were transferred. Thompson learned that she was pregnant around her 40th birthday.
“That four-cell thing became our daughter,” Wise said. Gaia was born following the successful procedure and is now 26 years old.
The second round of attempts began during their daughter’s second year of life. This time, the procedures were unsuccessful. “We tried again and failed, then we tried again and failed again,” the actor said.
“We couldn’t find each other”
Wise described the IVF procedures as an extremely difficult process that brings with it a sense of failure and intense public pressure. In his view, the experience affected them both, but in different ways.
When asked whether they had managed to support each other, he replied: “No. No. No, no. We were disconnected.”
The actor said that the attention during the procedures was focused mainly on Thompson’s physical and hormonal strain. He himself tried to support and reassure her, but felt that he could not change the situation.
“I couldn’t save Emma. There was nothing I could do,” Wise said. According to him, this drew him into a painful cycle in which he suppressed his own pain in order to be a source of support for his wife.
Therapy helped the family
The two spent a long time trying to overcome the grief of being unable to give Gaia a brother or sister. Wise said that their love for their daughter helped them get through the period, but did not immediately erase the feeling of loss.
“Therapy saved my life and our marriage. Without therapy, there is absolutely no doubt I wouldn’t be sitting here,” he said.
Greg Wise and Emma Thompson have been married since 2003. In his account, the actor stressed that the crisis did not end with a single conversation, but required time, professional help and gradually accepting the family as it is.
Source: dailymail.com