Atomic Kitten singer Liz McClarnon is expecting her first child at the age of 44.
In an interview with The Mirror, published on Sunday, June 1, McClarnon detailed the emotional journey behind her pregnancy, which was announced via Instagram last month. The musician revealed she experienced two heartbreaking miscarriages before a round of IVF led to joyful news.
McClarnon, who is currently in her second trimester, explained that she and her doctor husband, Peter Cho, began exploring fertility options not long after meeting each other online in 2021. McClarnon experienced three failed embryo transfers via IVF and then two miscarriages towards the end of 2024, “following their first successful cycles.” (In vitro fertilization, more commonly known as IVF, involves mature eggs collected from ovaries and fertilized by sperm in a lab, per Mayo Clinic.)
McClarnon told the outlet she had thought she would stop trying. “I said I was done after the last one, and Peter was absolutely on board with that, he didn’t say anything other than, ‘This is your body and I’ll support whatever you decide you want,’ which was a huge thing for me,” she told the outlet. “I felt so bad emotionally, it was really tough. But then we spent Christmas at home in my tiny two-bedroom flat, and my mum and dad came down from Liverpool and we all squeezed in. That time actually helped me heal.”
In her May 13 Instagram reveal, McClarnon posted a video of herself seated on a park bench as the camera slowly approached her from behind. Text appeared over the top of the clip, reading, “After years of sometimes quite painful IVF and quite dark times,” before the singer stood from the bench to show her growing bump.
“I’m pregnant! We feel like we’ve been given the world!” then appeared alongside footage of McClarnon beaming.
She also reflected on the news via the video’s caption, which read, “I just can’t believe we’re here. ❤️So many have been through exactly what I went through and worse. ❤️ I want to share what I can and add my voice and ears to those who already help others understand or deal with all that comes with ivf and loss after so much hope.”
McClarnon told the outlet that she is “loving life” while aware “of the potential impact of her age on her pregnancy and labor.” She is reportedly “already taking aspirin as she falls into the high-risk category” and is being monitored for preeclampsia, described as “persistent high blood pressure that develops during pregnancy” by the Preeclampsia Foundation.
The outlet noted that she will soon start taking “regular blood-thinning injections” as she moves towards a pregnancy milestone — learning the gender of her baby.