Adrienne Bailon Houghton is getting candid about her difficult road to becoming a mom — and the surprising health effects that followed.
During an August 7 appearance on the Angie Martinez IRL podcast, the singer and former The Real co-host shared that after six years of undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF), ending the treatments sent her body into early menopause.
Bailon shared that she started noticing major physical changes, including constant hot flashes. One moment that stood out was during a hair appointment, when her stylist struggled to blow-dry her hair because she was sweating so much. It was just one example of how deeply the fertility treatments had affected her body.
Back in April, at a pop-up event for her LA VOÛTE brand, Bailon told PEOPLE that she and her husband, gospel singer Israel Houghton, spent over $1 million on fertility treatments over the years.
“I only did eight cycles of IVF, but that doesn’t include the IUIs and every other kind of imaginable treatment,” she said. “It was a pretty tough six years of trying to have my son.” She admitted her journey wasn’t financially realistic for most people, but for her, it was worth it.
The reality was far from what Bailon had once pictured. She thought becoming a mom would be easy, but instead faced years of heartbreak and discouragement. Throughout it all, she leaned on her faith, saying, “I’ve had to come to peace with the fact that it’ll happen when it’s God’s timing.”
That faith was rewarded in August 2022, when Bailon and Houghton welcomed their son, Ever James, via surrogate. “Our baby boy is here & we are so in love,” she wrote on Instagram at the time. “He is worth every tear, every disappointment, every delayed prayer, every IVF cycle, every miscarriage.”
