Michelle Yeoh, the acclaimed actress known for her roles in Everything Everywhere All at Once, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and the upcoming Wicked film adaptation, has bravely opened up about the profound sadness she feels about not having children.
In a candid interview with BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, Yeoh admitted, “I think the worst moment to go through is every month you feel like such a failure.” She spoke about the emotional toll of fertility treatments and the difficult process of coming to terms with her body’s limitations. “You just have to let go and move on,” she reflected. “And I think you come to a point where you have to stop blaming you.”
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Yeoh, who was married to businessman Dickson Poon from 1988 to 1992, revealed that their inability to have children was a significant factor in their divorce. “It took a long time” to reconcile with this reality, she confessed. She emphasized the importance of open communication in a relationship when facing such challenges: “That’s why this dialogue between a couple is so important. Like, if one wants [a baby] and the other doesn’t, this is something you have to face right at the beginning.”
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Despite the heartbreak, Yeoh has found solace and joy in her extended family. “I’m 62. Of course, I’m not going to have a baby right now, but the thing is we just had a grandchild,” she shared, referring to her stepson’s child. “Then you feel you’re still very, very blessed because you do have a baby in your life.”
Yeoh also cherishes her godchildren, nieces, and nephews. “Maybe that is the biggest sadness in my life, that I cannot have kids,” she told The Times. “But the beauty is that I have six godchildren, many nephews and nieces. I don’t live with regrets because I have always given it my 110 per cent.”
