Jess Impiazzi has revealed her heartbreak at being told she is going through the early menopause but said she still wants to have children.
The Ex on the Beach star, 34, admitted she was left devastated and cried for three days after being told that she has a ‘slim’ chance of having children.
She explained her symptoms were initially dismissed as stress three years ago, before she was privately diagnosed with premature menopause.
The menopause occurs between the ages of 44 and 55 when a woman stops having periods and can no longer fall pregnant naturally but 1 in 100 women can experience it before the age of 40.
Speaking about her devastating diagnosis, Jess said she still hopes to have children with Jermaine, 40, and that they are attempting to start a family through IVF.
Devastating news: Jess Impiazzi has revealed her heartbreak at being told she is going through the early menopause but said she still wants to have children
She told The Sun: ‘I have always wanted to have a family so to be told the chances of having my own children are slim is heartbreaking.
‘We had talked about kids but we haven’t even been together for two years and assumed we had more time.’
Jess went on to reference their ‘tough times’, which saw Jermaine diagnosed with ADHD just before Christmas while he was also declared bankrupt at the start of this year.
Jess admitted they hadn’t planned to have a relationship this early in their relationship, but Jermaine insisted he plans to stand by his partner and support her.
The former footballer, who started dating Jess in September 2021, said: ‘I understand how much she wants to have a family, time is of the essence so all I can do is be her support and do whatever I can to make the journey possible.’
Speaking about her diagnosis, Jess admitted she felt ‘let down’ by GPs after they put her symptoms down to stress in multiple appointments over three years.
Jess explained that she began missing periods, suffered irregular heavy bleeding, experienced fatigue, brain fog and anxiety at the age of 30.
She said she would have been able to have her eggs frozen if she’d known earlier, sharing her upset about the choice being ‘taken away’ from her.
Plans: Speaking about her devastating diagnosis, Jess said she still hopes to have children with Jermaine, 40, and said they are attempting to start a family through IVF treatment
Health: Jess explained that her symptoms were initially dismissed as stress three years ago, before she was privately diagnosed with premature menopause
After going to a private clinic specialising in fertility and hormonal problems, Jess said she was diagnosed with endometriosis on her bowels and primary ovarian insufficiency, which often leads to infertility.
Jess admitted she was worried about telling Jermaine that they needed to try to have a family straight away following her diagnosis, saying they hadn’t planned to do so for a few years.
The couple have now decided to try IVF treatment and are currently awaiting results of initial tests and Jess said she won’t be able to have multiple biological children.
Jess, who was previously married to rugby player Denny Solomona, and Jermaine started dating in November 2021.
It comes after a difficult time for the couple after Jermaine revealed he felt like a ‘lunatic’ for making destructive decisions before being diagnosed with ADHD.
In January, he appeared on Friday’s Good Morning Britain to discuss his ‘life-changing’ diagnosis and admitted that it helped him make sense of his past decisions.
While insisting that he couldn’t ‘make excuses’ for his behaviour he shared his sadness at not being diagnosed until now because it would’ve made his relationships, work and life easier, noting he’s now ‘happier than I’ve ever been’.
ADHD is a behavioural condition defined by inattentiveness, hyperactivity and impulsiveness.
Speaking about his diagnosis, Jermaine said: ‘It’s life-changing because I would ask myself so many questions over the years. “Why do I leave destruction in my path?” Or “how have I got myself in certain situations?”
‘I just thought it was down to me just being a lunatic or just not well and having serious issues but not actually identifying what they were.
‘I was just going round-and-round in circles, making the same mistakes and telling myself ‘I know that I’m not a bad person but why am I doing this?’
He went on to explain that he believed his ‘troubled childhood’ was to blame for developing the condition.
Elsewhere, Jermaine was declared bankrupt after accumulating debts of over £1million, according to reports.
Birmingham County Court has reportedly issued a one-year bankruptcy order to the ex-Premier League star, who owes money to creditors including HMRC, councils, banks and utility companies.
The 39-year-old’s media company Jermaine Pennant Ltd, which was set up following his TV appearances on shows such as Celebrity Big Brother, was dissolved in 2020.
The former midfielder was understood to have defaulted on his mortgage payments.
A source close to Pennant told The Sun: ‘He owes stacks of cash all over the place.
Difficulties: Jess went on to reference their ‘tough times’, which saw Jermaine diagnosed with ADHD just before Christmas while he was also declared bankrupt at the start of this year
Setback: Jermaine recently shared his sadness at not being diagnosed with ADHD earlier because it would’ve made his relationships and work easier (pictured playing for Stoke in 2011)
‘His debts are into seven-figures. His debts to the taxman and banks are huge. He has defaulted on mortgage payments and will likely have property repossessed.’
Jess recently opened up about how her relationship with Jermaine has been strengthened by their shared trauma.
She told how Jermaine’s difficult past alongside her own hard childhood has brought them closer together.
Speaking to The Sun, she said: ‘When two people have been through something traumatic it can be toxic or healing. Luckily we’ve been the healing thing for each other.’