Ali Fedotowsky "didn’t feel worthy" of support when she opened up about her miscarriage.
The former ‘Bachelorette’ star had been expecting her third child with her husband Kevin Manno – with whom she already has Molly, four, and Riley, two – but revealed last month she had suffered an "almost debilitating" miscarriage.
And now, Ali has said she found it "really hard" to speak about her experience, because she didn’t want people to "feel sorry" for her.
She said: "It was really hard. I truly didn’t want people feeling sorry for me. I didn’t want to compare my situation to other people’s situations. But when I sat back and thought about all the reasons I didn’t want to share, I realised I needed to share because other women out there going through the same thing are thinking the same thing.
"I think it was important for me to say, ‘It’s OK to share. It’s OK to feel whatever you’re feeling in this moment."
The 35-year-old reality star shared her story on social media, but immediately regretted her honesty because she didn’t believe she deserved the love and support her fans showed her.
She added: "I sat there like a ball, like, ‘I wish I could take it down.’ Not because people were saying anything negative [but] because people were being so supportive, and I didn’t feel worthy of that support."
But now, Ali is pleased she opened up about her miscarriage, as she knows she will have "helped somebody" going through something similar.
She told Us Weekly’s ‘Here For the Right Reasons’ podcast: "I know it help[ed] somebody. I didn’t do it for me."
In her original social media post, Ali confessed she miscarried in her own home, and was left traumatised when she "passed the gestational sac" in her bedroom.
She wrote in part of a lengthy Instagram caption: "It’s such a long story of how it all happened. I’m not ready to fully talk about it and I honestly don’t know if I ever will be. (CONTENT WARNING – this may be difficult to read. Especially for those who have experienced a pregnancy loss)
"It happened early one morning when I had intense cramping. I passed the gestational sac – which was the size of a plum – in my bedroom. I was in complete shock when it happened. I sat and stared at it for hours – not able to fully comprehend what happened. And the utter exhaustion that took over my body in the few days after that was almost debilitating. (sic)"