Bachelor alum Sarah Herron shared an update on her fertility journey following the loss of son Oliver earlier this year, revealing her and fiancé Dylan Brown‘s latest embryo transfer failed.
“After 5 months of healing, physically and spiritually, we felt ready to move forward with another embryo transfer. We kept it to ourselves this time, to have something only we knew,” the former reality star, 36, captioned an Instagram video on Thursday, June 29, sharing clips of herself and Brown.
Herron went on to reveal that she and Brown attempted to transfer another embryo — their first since Oliver’s death — but were unsuccessful. “We were so hopeful, and intuitively, I really felt that it had worked this time,” she wrote. “I’ve never been so wrong. We always knew this was a possibility. Even with perfect embryos… things don’t always go as planned.”
Featured in the video was footage of Herron giving herself IVF injections and visiting a clinic. Another clip showed Herron and Brown hugging as they waited for the results of an at-home pregnancy test.
“It wasn’t the result we were expecting,” she continued. “What was captured instead of our joy, was the moment that years of hard work got washed away and the trauma of losing our son flooded back in. IVF gives families so much hope and possibility, but when it doesn’t work out, it’s hard not to feel like you’ve just watched that possibility get flushed down the drain.”
She added: “I had mentally prepared myself for the triggers of pregnancy after loss, but I never prepared for the postpartum trauma that would be triggered by a failed transfer.”
As the couple registered the negative result, Herron leaned into Brown’s chest and cried. “For anyone going through IVF after a pregnancy loss, this is the real deal. I see you.💔,” she wrote, thanking her “determined, inspiring” team of experts and friends.
As she and Brown continue their path to parenthood, Herron shared an Instagram Story announcing her plans to form “an emotional support group for intended mamas going through IVF/ART.” Her “private, intimate and safe group” will be limited to 12 members but is not “a substitute for medical advice or professional fertility treatments.” Further information will be available in Herron’s email newsletter.
Herron — who appeared on season 17 of The Bachelor and multiple seasons of Bachelor in Paradise — announced her engagement to Brown in May 2021. Us Weekly broke the news in September 2022 that the ABC alum was pregnant with the pair’s first child after a lengthy IVF journey.
Shortly after the new year, Herron revealed that she suffered a pregnancy loss with son Oliver at 24 weeks. “There are no words for the magnitude of loss and pain we’re experiencing,” she wrote via Instagram on February 1. “It’s beautiful and simultaneously tragic. He had my nose and his dad’s mouth and long fingers. … His body was small, but his legacy will always be larger than life to us.”
Herron has been candid about her grief and healing journey in the wake of her son’s death, often sharing updates via social media. Brown, for his part, initially shied away from speaking out.
“I debated for a VERY long time whether or not I wanted to share the loss of Oliver on Instagram. And it’s come to this: I live two lives – my real life, and my Instagram life. … I’ve felt this dread of sharing a loss no parent should have to endure,” he captioned a February 27 Instagram post.
Brown noted that coping with loss is “messy,” adding that he and Herron will be “unpacking” their pain for a long time. “Most likely for the rest of our lives – but we were strong for each other, for Oliver, and through Love, found a way through it,” he wrote. “Knowing Oliver is gone is painful, but the loss of a dream was the real stinger, still is.”
