Alex Reid and fiancée Nikki are expecting twins after IVF battle
EXCLUSIVE: ‘We’re shocked but super excited!’ Alex Reid and fiancée Nikki Manashe announce they’re expecting TWINS after seven-year IVF battle
Alex Reid and his fiancée Nikki Manashe are expecting twins, MailOnline can exclusively reveal.
The ex MMA fighter, 47, and influencer Nikki, 36, who welcomed their daughter Anastasia in 2021 after a seven-year IVF battle, say they can’t believe they are expecting non-identical twins.
Nikki, who is now 13 weeks pregnant, candidly spoke to us about her pregnancy journey – from being told by doctors ‘you won’t be able to have children’ to now, about to become a mother-of-three.
Congrats: Alex Reid and his fiancée Nikki Manashe are expecting twins, MailOnline can exclusively reveal (pictured with daughter Anastasia)
Nikki, who calls herself ‘The IVF Mama’, was implanted with two embryos – one which is seven-years-old and a remaining one from her IVF cycle from when she fell pregnant with her daughter.
Not knowing the quality of the seven-year-old embryo, doctors decided to put both in – and to both Nikki and Alex’s delight they were told they were expecting twins.
Of the moment they found out, Nikki says: ‘It’s crazy a woman, who was told “you probably won’t be able to have children”, and has had fertility struggles is now going to be a mum-of-three.
‘We were just absolutely shocked to be honest. I know people will say “well how can you be shocked because you had embryos put in?” but Anastasia was a twin as well and we lost her twin really early on in pregnancy.
Happy news: The ex MMA fighter, 47, and influencer Nikki, 36, who welcomed their daughter Anastasia in 2021 after a seven-year IVF battle, say they can’t believe they are expecting non-identical twin
Overjoyed: Nikki, who calls herself ‘The IVF Mama’, was implanted with two embryos – one which is seven-years-old and a remaining one from her IVF cycle from when she fell pregnant with her daughter
‘It’s still early days, everything is going so perfectly. Both of them healthy, their growing how they should be. We’re super, super excited and we’re going to have a crazy busy household.’
Nikki, who sought out the services of The Harley Street Fertility Clinic, calls her pregnancy a ‘beautiful struggle’.
Before IVF, Nikki nearly died when she suffered an ectopic pregnancy. Doctors had to perform emergency surgery and remove her fallopian tube.
Family: Not knowing the quality of the seven-year-old embryo, doctors decided to put both in – and to both Nikki and Alex’s delight they were told they were expecting twins
Nikki said: ‘It’s crazy a woman, who was told “you probably won’t be able to have children”, and has had fertility struggles is now going to be a mum-of-three’
The couple then began their IVF journey. Nikki was able to fall pregnant but tragically suffered six miscarriages.
She reflects: ‘I had the most horrific PTSD. I didn’t leave the house at some points. It’s in my bones to be a mum.
‘I’m so maternal. Having so much loss from my Mumand all these miscarriages. It was such a dark, sad place.
Family: ‘We were just absolutely shocked to be honest’, Nikki said upon finding out they’re going to have twins
Over the moon: Nikki and Alex pictured shortly after the birth of their daughter Dr Venkat
Exciting: Dr Venkat implanted an embryo from the IVF cycle in which their daughter Anastasia (pictured) was conceived and a seven-year-old embryo – now the couple are expecting twins
‘I did lose hope, but there was something in me that was like “don’t give up, keep going, you’ve got this”.’
Nikki then went to Dr Venkat at Harley Street Fertility Clinic where she was diagnosed with an autoimmune condition, and with the right medication she was able to become a mum.
Nikki says her first trimester has been ‘awful’ due to being on strong steroids and autoimmune suppressant medication to carry her babies to turn.
‘Your body is exhausted because you’re carrying multiples in your womb, it’s exhausting,’ she says.
‘It’s in my bones to be a mum’: Nikki was able to fall pregnant but tragically suffered six miscarriages before she fell pregnant with Anastasia
‘I was having two to four sleep, a daughter who was teething and the morning sickness and heartburn. It’s not been great.’
Looking ahead, Nikki says she is planning to get gender reveal cakes.
Alex, who was previously married to Katie Price, is father to daughter Dolly, eight, from his past relationship with Chantelle Houghton.
When asked if they are hoping to have a boy, Nikki says: ‘I am happy with whatever God gives me. As long as they’re healthy that all matters.’
- Nikki writes a blog called www.theivfmama.com in which she details her journey in a bid to help others.
Can’t wait: After his daughter’s birth, Alex shared snap as he carried her home from hospital and wrote ‘baby is coming home’
HOW DOES IVF WORK?
In-vitro fertilisation, known as IVF, is a medical procedure in which a woman has an already-fertilised egg inserted into her womb to become pregnant.
It is used when couples are unable to conceive naturally, and a sperm and egg are removed from their bodies and combined in a laboratory before the embryo is inserted into the woman.
Once the embryo is in the womb, the pregnancy should continue as normal.
The procedure can be done using eggs and sperm from a couple or those from donors.
Guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends that IVF should be offered on the NHS to women under 43 who have been trying to conceive through regular unprotected sex for two years.
People can also pay for IVF privately, which costs an average of £3,348 for a single cycle, according to figures published in January 2018, and there is no guarantee of success.
The NHS says success rates for women under 35 are about 29 per cent, with the chance of a successful cycle reducing as they age.
Around eight million babies are thought to have been born due to IVF since the first ever case, British woman Louise Brown, was born in 1978.
Chances of success
The success rate of IVF depends on the age of the woman undergoing treatment, as well as the cause of the infertility (if it’s known).
Younger women are more likely to have a successful pregnancy.
IVF isn’t usually recommended for women over the age of 42 because the chances of a successful pregnancy are thought to be too low.
Between 2014 and 2016 the percentage of IVF treatments that resulted in a live birth was:
29 per cent for women under 35
23 per cent for women aged 35 to 37
15 per cent for women aged 38 to 39
9 per cent for women aged 40 to 42
3 per cent for women aged 43 to 44
2 per cent for women aged over 44
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