Oscar-winning actress Michelle Yeoh has opened up about the emotional struggles she faced while trying to have children, admitting she once felt “like such a failure.”
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, Yeoh shared that starting a family was a significant part of her first marriage to businessman Sir Dickson Poon.
The couple, who were married from 1988 to 1992, hoped to have children together, but fertility treatments proved unsuccessful.
“And I think the worst moment to go through is every month you feel like such a failure,” Yeoh said. “At some point, you stop blaming yourself. I realized there are certain things in your body that don’t function the way you want. You just have to let go and move on.”
Despite her attempts, the Everything Everywhere All at Once star said it took years to reconcile with the reality of not having her own children.
“Honestly, I still think about it,” Yeoh admitted. “I’m 62. Of course, I’m not going to have a baby now. But we just had a grandchild, and you feel so blessed because you do have a baby in your life.”
Yeoh remarried last year, and her stepson and his wife welcomed a baby in January.
She also takes joy in being an aunt, godmother, and having nieces and nephews who enrich her life.
Reflecting on her first marriage, Yeoh said the inability to have children was likely a key factor in its end.
“These are conversations you really have to have with yourself and your partner,” she said. “We loved each other very much, but I had to be fair and acknowledge I couldn’t give him the family he craved.”
Yeoh emphasized the importance of honest dialogue in relationships when one partner wants children and the other cannot or does not.
“It’s brave to admit that and not drag things out. We tried, but sometimes love isn’t enough for certain life goals.”
Yeoh, who won her first Oscar last year for her groundbreaking performance, is also celebrated for films like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Tomorrow Never Dies, and Crazy Rich Asians.
She is set to appear as Madame Morrible in the upcoming film adaptation of Wicked.
After years of engagement to French motor racing executive Jean Todt, the couple married in 2023.
Reflecting on her journey, Yeoh remains grateful for the love and family she now cherishes, even as she continues to navigate the emotions of her earlier struggles.
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