Kristen Stewart Opens Up About Her Egg Freezing Journey With Fiancée Dylan Meyer
For a host of reasons, from rising living costs to medical issues, egg freezing is on the up. According to the latest report from the Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority (HFEA), it's the UK's fastest growing fertility treatment, with a 64% rise in patients (in 2021 compared to 2019).
It seems to be increasingly common among celebrities too, with Kristen Stewart becoming the latest star to comment on her experience of it. In a March 2024 episode of the podcast Not Skinny But Not Fat, Stewart said that she and her fiancée Dylan Meyer have both gone through the process.
'We've done really annoying things like freeze our eggs and stuff,' said the actor, when host Amanda Hirsch asked if she wanted children. 'So, if we want to we can, you know what I mean? Like, keeping that open.'
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In her Rolling Stone cover interview in February 2024, Stewart said that she and Meyer have discussed carrying each other's embryos, adding that she feels scared about one particular part of motherhood. 'I’m not scared of being pregnant. I’m not scared of having a kid,' she said. 'But I’m so f*cking scared of childbirth, it’s crazy.'
While Stewart seems to have gone through the process alongside her partner, some choose to freeze their eggs alone – as Priyanka Chopra did before meeting her husband Nick Jonas (with whom she now shares a daughter, Malti Marie Chopra Jonas). In an episode of Dax Shepard's Armchair Expert podcast, Chopra said that she froze her eggs – in particularly inspiring style – while she was in her early 30s.
'I could continue on an ambitious warpath that I wanted to achieve,' she said. 'I wanted to get to a certain place in my career, and I also hadn't met the person I wanted to have children with or I didn't see that.'
For some, the process is a medically advised rather than proactive. Back in 2020, Emma Roberts discussed her own egg freezing experience, which she was encouraged to pursue in her late 20s after being diagnosed with endometriosis. 'I was told, "You should probably freeze your eggs or look into other options,"' she told Cosmopolitan.
'I said, "I’m working right now. I don’t have time to freeze my eggs." To be honest, I was also terrified. Just the thought of going through that and finding out, perhaps, that I wouldn’t be able to have kids… I did freeze my eggs eventually, which was a difficult process.' She had her son Rhodes, who she shares with ex Garrett Hedlund, in December 2020.
In 2023, Kesha spoke of the 'horrifying' moment she 'almost died' after opting to freeze her eggs. Her uncommon yet serious complication was, in part, attributed to her weakened immune system, caused by a chronic condition.
Meanwhile, Rita Ora has praised egg freezing, which she has done twice – aged 24 and 27. 'Freezing my eggs was the best thing I ever did,' she told The Independent in December 2021. 'I think as women, we put that pressure on ourselves, subconsciously, because we feel like that is our duty – to create and give life,' she added. 'So, I just wanted to not worry about it. And I didn’t after.'
While that sounds appealing, and shows how reassuring egg freezing can be, it's worth bearing in mind that there are no guarantees. HFEA points out that success rates 'tend to be quite low', although it does add that this is a rapidly advancing medical field. There's also the price factor; the average cost of having your eggs collected and frozen in the UK is £3,350, with additional ongoing costs for storage (around £125 and £350 per year).
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