Jayne Torvill’s ‘traumatic’ journey to motherhood: Dancing On Ice star underwent 12 months of treatment in a bid to have children following life-threatening condition in her 40s

 

Despite being a world-famous ice skater, Jayne Torvill faced a battle in her personal life as she tried to have children following a life-threatening condition in her 40s.

The British skating legend, 66, is happily married to American sound engineer Phil Christensen and they are now proud parents to their adopted children, Kieran and Jessica.

Jayne has previously opened up about her journey to motherhood, suffering a life-threatening ectopic pregnancy before enduring 12 months of IVF treatment.

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Speaking on Piers Morgan‘s Life Stories in 2013, the Dancing On Ice star broke down in tears as she said she left trying for children ‘quite late’ because it ‘would have stopped’ her skating career.

She said: ‘As a couple skating together, it’s easy for the guy to go off and start a family because it wouldn’t affect his skating.

Despite being a world-famous ice skater, Jayne Torvill (pictured this month) faced a battle in her personal life as she tried to have children following a life-threatening condition in her 40s
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Despite being a world-famous ice skater, Jayne Torvill (pictured this month) faced a battle in her personal life as she tried to have children following a life-threatening condition in her 40s

The British skating legend, 66, is happily married to American sound engineer Phil Christensen and are proud parents to their adopted children, Kieran, 21, and Jessica, 17
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The British skating legend, 66, is happily married to American sound engineer Phil Christensen and are proud parents to their adopted children, Kieran, 21, and Jessica, 17

‘Whereas for me, it would have stopped what we were doing, so I left it quite late and I was into my forties by then’.

Jayne, who won Olympic gold in 1984 with partner Christopher Dean, revealed when she and husband Phil did start trying for children she ‘got pregnant quickly’ however it wasn’t until she went for a scan that doctors told her something was wrong.

She continued: ‘I got pregnant quite quickly and I thought, “Oh this is fine”. And when I went to have a scan they said I had an ectopic pregnancy, and I didn’t know what that meant.

‘They said, “The embryo’s growing in one of the tubes”. And I said, “Oh, ok, so how do you get it out then?”. And they said, “We don’t. We can’t”. That’s when it hit me.’

Ectopic pregnancy, which can become life-threatening, is when a fertilised egg becomes implanted outside the womb, typically inside a fallopian tube.

The result of an ectopic pregnancy is that the egg does not develop into a baby and continuing the pregnancy is a health risk.

The pregnancy usually has to be removed through medication or an operation.

Jayne revealed she had surgery following the sad news and went on to try ‘IVF for a year’ which she described as ‘traumatising’.

Jayne has previously opened up about her journey to motherhood as she first suffered an ectopic pregnancy before enduring 12 months of IVF treatment
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Jayne has previously opened up about her journey to motherhood as she first suffered an ectopic pregnancy before enduring 12 months of IVF treatment

Speaking in 2013, the Dancing On Ice star broke down in tears as she said she left trying for children 'quite late' because it 'would have stopped' her skating career (pictured in 2021)
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Speaking in 2013, the Dancing On Ice star broke down in tears as she said she left trying for children ‘quite late’ because it ‘would have stopped’ her skating career (pictured in 2021)

Jayne revealed when she and Phil (pictured in 1994) did start trying for children she 'got pregnant quickly' but when she went for a scan that doctors told her something was wrong
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Jayne revealed when she and Phil (pictured in 1994) did start trying for children she ‘got pregnant quickly’ but when she went for a scan that doctors told her something was wrong

‘So I went through the surgery and then it was obvious it was going to be more difficult. So we tried IVF for about a year. That, as a lot of women know, is traumatic in itself,’ she added.

Fighting back tears, her proud friend and skating partner Christopher told the audience and ITV viewers: ‘She’s never talked about it in public before’.

Jayne, who was 55 at the time of the interview, also opened up about her path to adopting her two children.

The ITV star said at the time she still thought she was going to have children but revealed it was a friend who actually changed her mind about adoption.

Jayne explained: ‘A friend of mine had adopted a little boy. She said, “Come and see him.” At that point I wasn’t ready to look into adoption, I was still thinking it was going to happen. And you’ve got to be ready for it, if you want to adopt.

‘I said to my husband, “I don’t know if I can do this”. And I went to see this little boy, and I wanted to bring him home.’

According to the NHS, In the UK, around 1 in every 90 pregnancies is ectopic. This is around 11,000 pregnancies a year.

If untreated, ectopic pregnancy can have fatal consequences such as life-threatening bleeding.

Jayne has been married to Phil for over 30 years after tying the knot on September 21, 1990. They now live in East Sussex.

Jayne revealed she had surgery following the sad news and went on to try 'IVF for a year' which she described as 'traumatising'
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Jayne revealed she had surgery following the sad news and went on to try ‘IVF for a year’ which she described as ‘traumatising’

Jayne opened up about her path to adopting her two children
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Jayne opened up about her path to adopting her two children

Jayne explained: 'A friend of mine had adopted a little boy. She said, "Come and see him." At that point I wasn't ready to look into adoption. I said to my husband, "I don't know if I can do this". And I went to see this little boy, and I wanted to bring him home'
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Jayne explained: ‘A friend of mine had adopted a little boy. She said, “Come and see him.” At that point I wasn’t ready to look into adoption. I said to my husband, “I don’t know if I can do this”. And I went to see this little boy, and I wanted to bring him home’

Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean announce they are retiring

She rarely shares photos with her partner but sometimes uploads family selfies or pictures with her two children Kieran and Jessica.

Jessica turned 17 in 2023 and Jayne marked the day by sharing a photo to Instagram as they posed in front of a car.

More recently she shared a picture with her son Kieran, 21, as they watched a Notts County match.

Jayne’s skating partner Christopher has been in a relationship with Dancing on Ice star Karen Barber since 2011 and has two sons, Jack, 25, and Sam, 23, with Jill Trenary, the second of his ex-wives.

It was on Valentine’s Day in 1984 when Jayne and Chris skated to victory at the Sarajevo Winter Olympics, winning the gold medal and earning the highest ever score for a single performance.

And now, 40 years later, the Olympians are hanging up their skates for good as they have announced their retirement.

The British skating duo will embark on one final UK tour next year, which will be their swansong and mark 50 years since they formed their skating partnership in 1975.

Christopher said that the pair had agreed it was the ‘right time’ to stop skating as they are ‘not spring chickens anymore’ and want to walk away while they’re still able to do it ‘to a certain degree.’

Their farewell tour, Torvill and Dean: Our Last Dance, will run from April 12 to May 11 2025 with dates in London, Belfast, Newcastle and Glasgow.

It was on Valentine's Day in 1984 when Jayne and Chris skated to victory at the Sarajevo Winter Olympics, winning the gold medal and earning the highest ever score for a single performance
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It was on Valentine’s Day in 1984 when Jayne and Chris skated to victory at the Sarajevo Winter Olympics, winning the gold medal and earning the highest ever score for a single performance

40 years later, the Olympians are hanging up their skates for good as they have announced their retirement and will embark on one final UK tour next year
+11
View gallery

40 years later, the Olympians are hanging up their skates for good as they have announced their retirement and will embark on one final UK tour next year