Real Housewives of New York City star Jessel Taank has been candid on and off camera about her struggles with fertility, and there’s one celebrity she’s crediting with giving her the courage to speak up.
“When I was going through my fertility stuff Chrissy Teigen actually helped me kind of get through it and I just looked up to her and she’s very real, she’s very raw,” Taank revealed on iHeartRadio’s “Chanel In The City” podcast.
“I respected her so much about being transparent about her challenges,” she told host and stand-up comedian Chanel Omari. “She’s been very open and honest about everything. And so that was also kind of a little bit of like, well, if she inspired me, maybe I can inspire other women.”
Teigen and husband John Legend haven’t had an easy journey when it comes to parenthood. In October 2015, the couple announced that they were expecting their first baby after undergoing invitro fertilization treatments (IVF).
The couple welcomed daughter Luna in April 2016. When trying to conceive baby No. 2, Teigen again turned to IVF and welcomed son Miles in May 2018. Two years later, Teigen and Legend suffered the loss of son Jack at 20 weeks into her pregnancy.
Teigen confirmed in February 2022 that she resumed IVF treatments, announcing six months later that she was pregnant. She gave birth to daughter Esti in January, but the family wasn’t finished expanding. Son Wren arrived via surrogate in June.
Taank, meanwhile, welcomed twin boys, Kai and Rio, in May 2021 with husband Pavit Randhawa after a long IVF journey of her own. But after giving birth, she’s admitted her sex life with her husband went through a dry spell.
“I just hope that with the fertility stuff that I’m helping people normalize the conversation with the sex stuff,” Taank told host Omari, who once starred on Bravo’s Princesses: Long Island. “I’m hoping that people who have kids and don’t feel like sleeping with their husband in that moment feel that it’s ok to do. So those are real conversations. Real women have to face every day of their lives and it shouldn’t be seen as taboo or there shouldn’t be a stigma attached to that stuff.”
She added, “Everyone’s so shocked. But guys, there’s nothing to be ashamed of. This is just real s–t, you know.”
While the reality newcomer read rumors she and her husband were headed for divorce, it couldn’t be farther from the truth.
“The first episode, all I kept hearing was they’re heading for divorce,” she told Omari. “And I was like, ‘That’s crazy,’ because I really didn’t think I gave off that sort of volatility that people were seeing. But at the same time, I can understand, like, they’re probably not used to seeing those types of open transparent conversations happening.”
Taank continued, “It’s very much an eye-opening experience and it’s absolutely something that has brought us closer. And I think that we look at each other on TV and we’re like, ‘OK, this is what we can do better,’ and it’s almost, like, the best type of therapy except for everyone’s on the ride with you making comments about your marriage.”
Listen to Jessel Taank’s full “Chanel in the City” episode here.
