Michelle Keegan’s pregnancy announcement serves as an important reminder of a ‘hurtful’ reality for women

I'm rarely one to put myself into the shoes of multi-millionaire celebrities, but as a result of Michelle Keegan's past comments about constantly being grilled about motherhood resurfacing, I found myself drawing some parallels.

An overjoyed Keegan, 37, shared that she and her husband Mark Wright, also 37, are expecting their first child on Instagram yesterday (29 December) after nine years of marriage.

"2025 is going to be a special one for us..." she wrote alongside a photo cradling her bump, standing on a beach next to Wright.

While it seems as though Keegan has decided to get pregnant on her own terms - as in, when the time best suited her and her other half - the truth is we're unlikely to ever know if she faced any difficulty conceiving, or whether she had any doubts, which is something that those who pressed her about when she was going to have a baby should have considered.

In reality, the reason is also not ours to feel entitled to.

Keegan has spoken out about the pressure in the past, telling the Mirror: "It’s horrible. People don’t know if we’re trying. They don’t know the background of what’s happening. In this day and age, you shouldn’t be asking questions like that. I’m asked purely because I’m a woman.

"But I’m immune to it now – it’s like a reaction, and as soon as I hear it I brush it off as it’s no one else’s business.”

One person wrote in the comments: "People still commenting saying how long they've waited for this... people are actually unbelievable."

A second added: "Congrats to you both! I hope this will shut up all the people who have been hounding you with asking when you're having a baby!!"

Another person said: "So pleased the rude, intrusive personal questions will now stop. Congratulations."

This year, I turned 29 years old, and my life looks very different to the way I dreamed it would be by now when I was younger.

I'm childless, and the truth is that I always really wanted to have fallen pregnant by now, with the right person.

I find myself being asked by people I know, as well as people I've just met, when I plan on becoming a mother - and while I'm sure their intentions are good (and I guess in a way, it's a compliment), they don't know just how triggering it can be.

While it still hurts to be asked today, it stung even more in the wake of a breakup with somebody who I truly believed I was going to have a baby with, but the pain has always been there as a result of having to make the truly devastating decision to have an abortion years ago - something I wrestle with a lot, but ultimately know was the right decision to make.

There's the biological clock ticking away to contend with, as well as the fact I am now single, and also bisexual. If I settle down with a woman, we'll face further challenges, which may set me even further back on my path to motherhood.

I've considered freezing my eggs, but it comes at a huge, unfeasible cost - and of course, there's the chance that if I simply keep waiting, when I start to try, I might just struggle to fall pregnant.

I am, along with everybody else, completely overjoyed by Keegan's pregnancy, but I truly believe we should all bear her former words in mind and learn to stop pressing women on when they plan to get pregnant - because for some people who really want it, it's just not that simple.