Chupi Sweetman announced her pregnancy in an emotional Instagram post yesterday morning, revealing her IVF journey.
Many people know Chupi Sweetman as the woman behind the Irish jewellery brand of the same name. Chupi was set up in April 2013 after Sweetman spent six years working in fast fashion as the youngest ever designer for Topshop. Wanting to create modern heirlooms that were made to last, the idea for Chupi was born.
The Chupi Instagram page now boasts 123k followers, with many following the page not only for the fabulous jewellery but for the romantic and inspiring stories of Chupi's customers - from engagements to self-empowerment, the stories behind each handmade piece of jewellery are part of the brand's success story.
On Sunday, however, Chupi Sweetman shared her own experience on the page. She revealed a piece of her life unknown to her many followers - her fertility issues and IVF journey.
In the post which now has 22, 585 likes 932 comments, Chupi wrote:
"I know for some of you this will feel irrelevant, you are here for the jewellery. But for me Chupi is about celebrating women and their stories, not the perfect ones but the imperfect ones too."
Revealing her pregnancy news, Chupi told her followers:
"Our darling little baby is due at the end of June and my heart is full to bursting đŸ’• After a complicated three years of ivf, it feels like a miracle."
She added that friends had asked her why she revealed her full story. Why hadn't she just posted the happy smiling photo with a pregnancy announcement and be done with it? She answered that life is far more complex than that - that 1 in 5 people trying for a baby will experience issues. She wrote:
"For some it will be a bump on the road, for others a barrier that can never be overcome. And this all happens, they may be your family, your best friend, it may even be you. But in sharing our good news I didn't want to add pain to anyone's journey, just to share that sometimes our lives only look perfect on the outside."
On her personal account @chupisweetman, Chupi went into slightly more detail about her journey, saying that her husband Brian held her together,
"It pushed us in ways I never thought possible but he was a rock. I thought at the time I was the one who held onto hope, but he made sure that we took it one day, one injection, one test at a time which actually got us through whilst my hopes and fears always lived in the future which is a scary place with IVF."
By sharing her story, Chupi has shown that IVF and fertility issues are part of many peoples' journeys in conceiving and that it is absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. Chupi's story is one of many, and it is wonderful to see social media being used in such a positive and empowering way.
Congratulations Chupi and Brian, and thank you for sharing your story!
