Sharing her story. Bachelor Nation alum Sarah Herron has been open and honest with fans about her fertility struggles for years.
Before she and fiancé Dylan Brown announced her pregnancy in September 2022, Herron — who first appeared on season 17 of The Bachelor in 2013 — shared the ups and downs of her IVF journey online in hopes of inspiring others going through similar experiences.
Revealing her diagnosis with diminished ovarian reserve (DOR) in March 2021, she wrote in an Instagram post, “Although I’ve felt grief, I do not feel sorry for myself. I feel empowered and knowledgeable. I am in a good headspace about my truth, and I know that I’m not alone.”
Nearly five months after their pregnancy news made headlines, Herron and Brown revealed that their newborn son, Oliver, died prematurely at 24 weeks. The former Bachelor in Paradise star penned a lengthy tribute to the infant via Instagram in February 2023, sharing a slideshow of pics from throughout her pregnancy, as well as a family photo of her and Brown with Oliver in the hospital.
“On January 28th, at 24 weeks old, our beautiful son Oliver Brown was born,” she captioned the post. “He passed away in his dad’s arms shortly after. There are no words for the magnitude of loss and pain we’re experiencing. It’s beautiful and simultaneously tragic. He had my nose and his dad’s mouth and long fingers.”
She continued: “Our time together was short, but we are grateful for the days we had with Oliver in my belly. He has taught us so much about the integrity of life, love and death. Oliver filled our home and hearts with so much love and most importantly, optimism. The stars aligned to create Baby Oliver with a deep, meaningful purpose bigger than we’ll ever understand. His body was small, but his legacy will always be larger than life to us.”
Herron went on to describe what Oliver got to experience with her during her pregnancy, from swimming with sea turtles to helping her recover from a broken knee and more. “We are comforted knowing that our son’s soul only ever knew love and will not suffer in a body that wasn’t built for this life,” she noted.
She concluded her post by writing, “We’ll never understand the cruelty of it all, but through the darkness, Oliver remains so so bright. We love you so much, baby boy. You will never be replaced. You are so perfect and awesome. Love, Mommy and Daddy.”
Less than one week later, she revealed that her and Brown’s dog, Rio, had not left her side since their son’s loss. “Why are dogs so magical?” she wrote via her Instagram Story. “I can’t stop thinking about how he knew when we were in Bend [Oregon] that Oliver wasn’t OK. We didn’t know, be he knew. I hate it so much. I’m so sorry he was scared.”
Herron wrote, “I don’t know what I would do without him.”
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Scroll down to revisit Herron’s most emotional quotes about her fertility journey over the years:
