Rebel Wilson opens up about infertility after freezing her eggs last year

Rebel Wilson opened up to her fans about her struggles with infertility on Instagram this week. “I got some bad news today and didn’t have anyone to share it with,” she said on a photo caption. “To all the women out there struggling with fertility, I feel ya.”

The 41-year-old actor didn’t share exactly what she was going through, saying only, “The universe works in mysterious ways and sometimes it doesn’t make sense… But I hope there’s light about to shine through all the dark clouds.”

Wilson shared in November of 2020 that she had polycystic ovarian syndrome, or PCOS, a hormonal disorder that can affect ovulation and fertility.

A month later, she told her fans during an Instagram Live that she’d frozen her eggs, and that she’d been working on her health all year to prepare for it.

Wilson was diagnosed with PCOS when she was 20, which is actually early. Experts believe that PCOS affects about 10% of women, but like a lot of women’s health conditions, it often goes undiagnosed even after women seek medical treatment for its symptoms (which most commonly include irregular periods, trouble conceiving, having a lot of body hair, and having multiple cysts on the ovaries).

Women’s trouble getting diagnosed with and treated for PCOS is part of a long-standing pattern of doctors ignoring or dismissing women’s health concerns. With treatment, it can be possible to get pregnant — but left untreated, PCOS can play a part in developing conditions like uterine cancer and diabetes. As with all medical conditions, if you have a hunch that something’s wrong with your hormones, be sure to see your doctor about it (even if you have to be dogged!).

As for Wilson, while she didn’t disclose what was going on in her fertility journey, she updated her post to express her gratitude for the well-wishes she got from her followers. “I can’t tell you how much that meant to me,” she said.