Olivia Bowen has revealed she may never be able to have children due to a health condition.
The Love Island star, 26, who is married to fellow contestant Alex Bowen, 28, has opened us about her uncertainty around her fertility due to having an underactive thyroid.
During an appearance on Channel 4's Steph's Packed Lunch, the reality star opened up about the impact of living with the condition.
"I got diagnosed when I was 10. Back then I was good with it, I always took my medication. Whereas now, where I've got really busy in the last four years, it has taken a bit of a backseat," she said.
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An underactive thyroid gland (or hypothyroidism) is where your thyroid gland doesn't produce enough hormones. Common symptoms include tiredness, weight gain and feeling low.
Explaining her own symptoms, Olivia told Doctor Javid: "I'm one of those people that should take it seriously but don't... I suffer a lot with tiredness, I think that's my main thing. I'm always fatigued, I'll sleep about 10 hours a night and still feel tired, I'll want to nap in the day. I can have really awful moods, really low, low moods."
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An underactive thyroid can also prevent ovulation, making it difficult to become pregnant.
Explaining her worries, Olivia said: "I have a lot of people asking me, when are you going to have kids, when do you want to get pregnant? In the back of my head, I'm like 'can I?', because I've been so irresponsible.
"I know how much Alex wants to have kids, so that's another reason why I need to be a bit more on it and careful, and make sure I'm giving us both the chances."
During the show, Doctor Javid arranged a blood test for Olivia and a consultation with women's health GP Doctor Yash, who confirmed Olivia's thyroid levels are low and she must resume taking medication daily.
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Getting the test results, Olivia asked Doctor Yash about her chances of having a baby next year, to which the GP warned her she would need to increase her medication dosages during pregnancy and receive close monitoring from medics.
A shocked Olivia responded: "I had no idea it was that involved... I'm quite a defiant person. I always told myself, 'oh I'm fine, I don't need', whereas obviously now I know....
"Now I know how important it is, I can put that message out to other people and make sure they're staying on top of it as well, because I know how hard it is and how we sometimes think we don't need help - but we do."
Steph's Packed Lunch airs weekdays at 12.30pm on Channel 4.
Featured Image Credit: Channel 4Topics: Life News, Celebrity News