Michelle Yeoh Opens Up On Infertility Struggles, Says 'Felt Like A Failure'

Oscar-winning actor Michelle Yeoh revealed she felt like a failure for not having a baby. The Wicked actress opened up about how infertility impacted her first marriage to Sir Dickson Poon, a Hong Kong-based business magnate. She was married to whom Poon from 1988 to 1992. 

As reported by BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour, she revealed undergoing fertility treatments which remained unsuccessful. "And I think the worst moment to go through is every month you feel like such a failure, And then you go, why? And I think at some point you stop blaming yourself. I go, there are certain things in your body that doesn't function in a certain way. That's how it is. You just have to let go and move on. And I think you come to a point where you have to stop blaming you."

Explaining that it “took a long time” for her to come to terms with not having her own biological children, Yeoh added “because that also maybe would be the main factor that broke up my first marriage.”

"But you also have to understand, these are conversations that you really have to have with yourself and be able to look ahead and think, yes, we love each other very much now, but in 10 years or 20 years, I still can't give him the family that he craves for. And you have to be fair."

"That's why this dialogue between a couple is so important. Like, if one wants [a baby] and the other doesn't, this is something you have to face right at the beginning, because along the way, there will be a lot of hurt and difficult times."

"And so I think it was very brave on our path to admit, to say, 'OK, let's not drag this out, because that's what we are doing. Because, we tried."

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Becoming a godmother

Poon is the father to five children; Yeoh is godmother to his eldest. Last year, she married Jean Todt, and recently became a grandmother to her stepson’s child.

Michelle Yeoh, even though missed out on being a mother, loves having kids around. Her stepson and his wife welcomed a baby this January, and she enjoys being a grandparent. She also has many nieces and nephews and often shares pictures with her grandchild on social media. 

Last year, she won an Oscar for Everything Everywhere All at Once becoming the first Asian to win in the Best Actress Category.

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