Bachelor Nation’s Sarah Herron’s Most Emotional Quotes About Late Son Oliver, Fertility Journey

Credit: Broadimage/Shutterstock

Bachelor Nation’s Sarah Herron’s Most Emotional Quotes About Late Son Oliver, Fertility Journey

Sharing her story. Bachelor Nation alum Sarah Herron has been open and honest with fans about her fertility struggles for years. Before she and fiancé Dylan Brown announced her pregnancy in September 2022, Herron — who first appeared on season 17 of The Bachelor in 2013 — shared the ups and downs of her IVF journey online in hopes of inspiring others going through similar experiences. Revealing her diagnosis with diminished ovarian reserve (DOR) in March 2021, she wrote in an Instagram post, “Although I’ve felt grief, I do not feel sorry for myself. I feel empowered and knowledgeable. I am in a good headspace about my truth, and I know that I’m not alone.” Nearly five months after their pregnancy news made headlines, Herron and Brown revealed that their newborn son, Oliver, died prematurely at 24 weeks. The former Bachelor in Paradise star penned a lengthy tribute to the infant via Instagram in February 2023, sharing a slideshow of pics from throughout her pregnancy, as well as a family photo of her and Brown with Oliver in the hospital. “On January 28th, at 24 weeks old, our beautiful son Oliver Brown was born,” she captioned the post. “He passed away in his dad’s arms shortly after. There are no words for the magnitude of loss and pain we’re experiencing. It’s beautiful and simultaneously tragic. He had my nose and his dad’s mouth and long fingers.” [jwplayer Gy9yntnA-zhNYySv2] She continued: “Our time together was short, but we are grateful for the days we had with Oliver in my belly. He has taught us so much about the integrity of life, love and death. Oliver filled our home and hearts with so much love and most importantly, optimism. The stars aligned to create Baby Oliver with a deep, meaningful purpose bigger than we’ll ever understand. His body was small, but his legacy will always be larger than life to us.” Herron went on to describe what Oliver got to experience with her during her pregnancy, from swimming with sea turtles to helping her recover from a broken knee and more. “We are comforted knowing that our son’s soul only ever knew love and will not suffer in a body that wasn’t built for this life,” she noted. She concluded her post by writing, “We’ll never understand the cruelty of it all, but through the darkness, Oliver remains so so bright. We love you so much, baby boy. You will never be replaced. You are so perfect and awesome. Love, Mommy and Daddy.” Less than one week later, she revealed that her and Brown’s dog, Rio, had not left her side since their son’s loss. “Why are dogs so magical?” she wrote via her Instagram Story. “I can’t stop thinking about how he knew when we were in Bend [Oregon] that Oliver wasn’t OK. We didn’t know, be he knew. I hate it so much. I’m so sorry he was scared.” Herron wrote, “I don’t know what I would do without him.” Scroll down to revisit Herron’s most emotional quotes about her fertility journey over the years:

Credit: Courtesy of Sarah Herron/Instagram

March 2021

The former reality star revealed via Instagram she had been diagnosed with diminished ovarian reserve (DOR). “I never imagined it would go this way for me — that at 34 I’d be told my chances of having a baby naturally, are very slim,” she captioned a pic of herself and Brown. “After 7 months of trying, but with no pregnancy, we turned to fertility testing. The results are consistent. My egg count and quality is low.”

She continued: "It’s hard not to feel broken—but I know this is just information to know myself better—to know my relationships, priorities, and values, better. Whatever the outcome may be. This is not a reflection of my ability to mother and nurture, and it does not make me any less deserving of my partner."

Herron ended her message by thanking "the women whose footsteps I am following in," adding, "I admire you, I hold space for you and I see all of you more clearly than ever."

Credit: Courtesy Sarah Herron/Instagram

May 2021

Herron confessed she was nervous about beginning her in vitro fertilization (IVF) process while chatting with fellow Bachelor Nation stars Becca Kufrin and Catherine Giudici on an episode of the “Bachelor Happy Hour” podcast.

“I’m so excited and nervous and don’t know what to expect,” she shared. “I haven’t started the medications. … I’m a little nervous simply because I was doing some hormone treatment before. I also struggle with some mental health that I’m on medications for, so there’s just a little bit of hesitation."

Pondering how going through the treatment would affect her "emotionally, mentally [and] physically," she added, "I feel like I have a really great support system. … I feel prepared. I’m just very nervous and excited.”

The SheLift founder stated that she was "very optimistic" about the process regardless of her nerves, adding, "I’m also trying to stay realistic because I know it’s a journey.”

Credit: Courtesy of Sarah Herron/Instagram

February 2023

One week after the death of her newborn son, Herron shared a pic of herself cuddling up with her dog, Rio, taken before Oliver’s delivery. "This was on our last morning all sitting together,” she wrote via her Instagram Story. "It was the last morning I got to soak in his big summersaults and hiccups. I want to go back. I’d give anything to go back to last Friday morning.”

Credit: Courtesy of Sarah Herron/Instagram

February 2023

“Postpartum after pregnancy loss is still postpartum," she wrote in an Instagram post. "I hadn’t gotten to the chapters on perinatal care yet, or lactation support. I jumped from second trimester to fourth trimester overnight. I didn’t know my milk was going to come in. Or that I would need my bathroom stocked with adult diapers, witch hazel and ice packs at 24 weeks pregnant.”

She continued: “Suddenly my days that should be spent sampling belly oils and rubbing my bump are spent taking a crash course in postpartum relief through streaming tears. I don’t want relief, I want my baby."

Herron encouraged people who have friends or family going through a similar experience to "show up to her bathroom with pads, diapers, and ice packs so that she doesn’t have to figure it out alone," adding, "Fill her fridge with broths, casseroles and beverage options so she doesn’t have to think about the mundane yet painful decisions in front of her."

Credit: Broadimage/Shutterstock

February 2023

The former ABC personality revealed that she has no regrets about her IVF journey while sharing an emotional video of herself turning her syringes into a heart surrounding an ultrasound picture of Oliver.

"It took 240 days of IVF injections to start our family. Nearly 2 years and over 300 needles,” she captioned the post. "But when we lost our beautiful son at 24 weeks … he was still worth every shot.”

She later posted the pic she snapped, expressing thanks for how the treatment helped her pregnancy journey. "They got me my miracle baby—a baby I got to know and love so deeply," she wrote. "And while Oliver’s time was cut short, having those 24 weeks with him wasn’t being struck by lightning… it was magic."

Credit: Courtesy of Sarah Herron/Instagram

February 2023

"It's been a month since Oliver was born. ❤️ This is him, this is his sweet little face. Perfect and covered in bright blonde peach fuzz. All 2lbs of him," Herron captioned the heartbreaking Instagram post. "What I hate, is that as more time separates us from the night we met Oliver, sometimes I can't distinguish if the last month has been a nightmare or if my pregnancy was all a dream."

She continued: "And as each new day brings increments of space and healing… I am gutted that we are moving back in a direction of life that physically looks like the one we lived before Oliver. My body is healing, yet I remain in maternity jeans—a paradox of relief and grief at the same time."

At the time, Herron admitted she was "not ready" for what was next. "The minutes of daylight gained each night is an insulting reminder that life carries on, despite my grief still being held in January," she wrote. "I don't want the snow to melt or the trees to bud. I want to Winter with Oliver forever."

Credit: Courtesy of Sarah Herron/Instagram

March 2023

“It’s been 2 months since Oliver was born and until today, my uterus has been retaining parts of his placenta. It has resulted in nearly 9 weeks of persistent bleeding, anemia, and my body not being sure if it’s pregnant or not,” Herron wrote via Instagram. “On the outside, the signs of my pregnancy have almost all but disappeared. But on the inside, my body has not been able to let go. For as long as this placenta has remained stuck in me, it has felt as though I was stuck in the trauma of my labor and postpartum. At times I have felt comforted knowing an actual piece of Oliver was still with me, and at other times I have felt guilty for wanting it gone. For wanting to ‘move on.’”

The reality TV alum underwent a procedure to remove a large placenta fragment earlier that month and is since recovering "well."

“My grief will remain with me forever – it’s scaffolding. Oliver will remain with me forever, too,” she concluded. “His DNA is apart of mine now. But I am relieved to close this very painful chapter of my loss story.”

Credit: Courtesy of Sarah Herron/Instagram

April 2023

Herron penned an essay for Women's Health in honor of National Infertility Awareness Week, which is April 23 to 29. "Our time together was short, but we are grateful for our days with Oliver in my belly. He has taught us so much about the integrity of life, love, and death," she wrote of her late son. "He's taught me what it means to be a mother: to honor, celebrate and show up for your children — regardless of their time on earth. Oliver filled our home and hearts with so much love and optimism."

She went on to call the little one "magic," adding, "The stars aligned to create our son with a deep, meaningful purpose bigger than we'll ever understand. His body was small, but his legacy will always be larger than life to us."