Australian television host and model Erin Holland has announced she is pregnant after a gruelling five-year journey with infertility that included 20 rounds of IVF.
The 37-year-old sports presenter described her 23-week pregnancy as an “absolute bloody miracle” following years of trying to conceive, which involved five egg collections, seven embryo transfers, four miscarriages, and one ectopic pregnancy.
Holland made the announcement on Stellar’s Something To Talk About podcast, telling host Sarrah Le Marquand that everything that could go wrong had gone wrong. At times, she doubted she would ever become a mother, but now feels this pregnancy is “the closest” she has ever been to parenthood and is “really excited.”
Despite being at the halfway mark, Holland acknowledged that “nothing is promised in fertility” and admitted it “won’t feel real” until she is holding her baby. She explained how the joy of seeing a positive pregnancy test was replaced by caution and disbelief after repeated losses.
“I think the hard part about infertility and pregnancy loss is that beautiful naivety of just seeing a double line on a pregnancy test is robbed from you because the first time you do it, it’s elation, it’s so exciting,” she said. “Then the second time you do it, you’re cautiously excited. By the third and the fourth time, you think it’s catfishing you.”
Holland said “hope” was the only thing that kept her and her husband, cricketer Ben Cutting, going through each heartbreak. She looks forward to “seeing the light in his eyes,” noting that he usually keeps his emotions private.
The couple also faced a significant financial burden. Holland revealed the total cost of IVF treatment exceeded $150,000 — “a house deposit,” she said. “It’s worth every penny if it works out, but so often it doesn’t.”
Sharing the news publicly was the first time she had said it aloud beyond close family and friends. “It’s surreal,” she said tearfully.
Holland first gained national attention after winning Miss World Australia in 2013. She also studied at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and has performed in several productions. More recently, she has become known for her television work covering major cricket leagues.
