Married At First star Jess O’Connor, known as Jess Potter, has set up a GoFundMe page to raise £10,000 for her next round of IVF.
The dental hygienist, 33, who rose to fame on the E4 show in 2022, took to social media on Wednesday to reveal she planned to ask the public for help to fund her treatment after three failed rounds of IVF.
Days after revealing her bid to adopt with fiancé TJ O’Reilly had been rejected, she took to Instagram and TikTok to confirm they were seeking public funding after spending £15,000 on three rounds and losing three babies.
In a heartbreaking turn of events, Jess revealed she was receiving abuse from her followers following her announcement, with some cruel critics branding her a “freeloader” and claiming she should “save her own money.”
Despite the criticism, it raised a whopping £1,825 of its £10,000 target from 164 backers, within 17 hours of its release, and continues to ask fans for cash.
Married At First star Jess O’Connor, known as Jess Potter, has set up a GoFundMe page to raise £10,000 for her next round of IVF (pictured with boyfriend TJ O’Reilly)
Days after revealing her bid to adopt with fiancé TJ O’Reilly had been rejected, she took to Instagram and TikTok to confirm they were seeking public funding after spending £15,000 on three rounds and losing three babies.
Despite the criticism, it raised a whopping £1,825 of its £10,000 target from 164 backers, within 17 hours of its release, and continues to ask fans for cash.
On the GoFundMe page, Jess wrote: ‘Hello, my name is Jess and for the last 2 years my partner Tom and I have been trying to have a baby. We have not had success’
Jess, who got engaged to TJ in October, has been candid about her fertility journey, with her social media documenting her failed IVF attempts.
Earlier this week, she revealed that her adoption attempts had failed because they hadn’t been a couple long enough, leading to her GoFundMe attempt.
On Instagram, she shared a selfie with her boyfriend and added a caption that read: ‘Well… we’re doing it!! GO FINANCE ME!! I know it’s a LOT to ask and of course we don’t expect anything, but we really want one more chance at IVF…
‘We need more tests which (a single test) cost £2000. Our embryos would have to be transferred to another clinic, which is also very expensive. Then a new IVF protocol and hopefully (fingers crossed) a fourth (and final) transfer…
‘Praying that we can be happy forever. All I’ve ever wanted is to be a mother and I really want another chance to do it!…
‘So if anyone can help in any way I will be VERY grateful!!!! – We’ll keep everyone updated with everything as we go, of course! The link is in the bio if you can donate.”
On the GoFundMe page, Jess wrote: ‘Hello, my name is Jess and for the last 2 years my partner Tom and I have been trying to have a baby. We have not had success…
‘We have had IVF three times, resulting in 3 pregnancy losses. We would love to try to start a family again as being parents is all we have ever wanted, but we have spent over £15,000 and have no more savings…
Jess has shared regular updates about her IVF journey with her fans.
Jess was forced to respond to a series of cruel critics.
‘IVF costs a ridiculous amount and after 3 losses we would have to do more research to try to find out why we can’t have a successful pregnancy that only costs thousands…
‘Once we’ve figured out what could be causing all this pain, we’d love to have another round of IVF…
“We would have to transfer our embryos to another clinic that specializes in recurrent pregnancy loss, which again is very expensive…
‘If anyone can help us in any way get closer to our goal of having a child who loves us and completes us, we will be eternally grateful. X…
‘All I have ever wanted is to be a mother and these have been the hardest two years of my life. It has drained the life out of me and the fact that money is causing another strain is heartbreaking. If anyone could help us, we would greatly appreciate it #IVFWARRIOR…
‘I will post regular updates on the tests we will be having and the results and hopefully we will be able to start a new round of IVF before the summer. Thanks again <3'.
When asked by a fan if she had debated going through the NHS, Jess replied: “I’ve done 3 rounds and I’m not implanting so more tests are needed to determine why and the NHS doesn’t cover those tests xx.”
When asked by a fan if she had debated going through the NHS, Jess replied: “I’ve had 3 rounds and I’m not implanting so more tests are needed to determine why and the NHS doesn’t cover those tests xx.”
Several followers kindly jumped to his defense.
One reviewer wrote: ‘Hmmm, I don’t know why, but this doesn’t sit well with me. Expecting people to pay for her IVF “dear sir”, to which Jess wrote: “And I didn’t expect to use the NHS. I self-funded and spent £15,000 of my own money but I had 3 losses and now we can’t afford it.” . go for the fourth time’.
Jess responded to another follower who wrote: “Anyone who donates is an absolute moron, don’t ask for money, save it yourselves and work hard,” while writing: “I’ve spent £15,000 so far and have had 3 losses…
When a follower suggested the couple try adoption, Jess revealed why they were forced to scrap the method.
When the fan wrote: ‘Adoption? There are so many children without parents,’ Jess replied: ‘We have already had 2 adoption meetings to foster or adopt…we have to wait another 2 years before we can
Others wrote: ‘We don’t expect anything but let’s have fun… Hahaha… How can you ask for 10k? Sick of people looking around here…this really isn’t right, you’re willing to take the public’s money on the off chance that it fails again!!! save if you want a child!!
She revealed she had considered surrogacy but divulged the surprising cost.
Jess shared with her Instagram followers that she was receiving mean comments.
Jess replied: “I called you to ask for help, if you don’t want to, you don’t have to… I did it. I paid for 3 rounds and it cost me over £15,000. We want to have more tests and repeat, so I’m asking you.” looking for help…there is nothing wrong with that. I don’t like it… MOVE ON.’
Meanwhile, Jess’s followers wrote: “I can’t believe the rude comments and lack of common sense here.” You are not forcing people to donate and you deserve it… Ignore these people, it’s nobody’s business…
‘I pray that you have the family you want so much, you deserve it… Some of these comments are absolutely horrible. The girl explained that she has gone through multiple losses. She is asking for help! Just be nice! X…
‘Some of the comments here are horrible. You are not forcing people to donate. I’ve been following your journey for about a year and you deserve it.
The reality star married stripper PJay Finch on the E4 show
In September, Jess broke down when she told fans she had suffered a miscarriage, just days after announcing she was four weeks and two days pregnant.
Filming a video from inside her car, she said: “I’m sitting outside of work… so yesterday I started bleeding a little bit and this morning I started passing some clots and stuff.”
‘I’m having a miscarriage which sucks. I’m sitting outside of work, trying to put on a brave face because I have to talk to patients all day and it really sucks.
“I haven’t slept and I’m in a little bit of pain and I’m obviously having a miscarriage, so it sucks.” But it is what it is, there’s not much you can do.
“So I guess I’ll have to wait a couple of months before we can have another round.” But I was really convinced it was going to work, that’s the hardest thing, I really thought it was going to work. But yeah, I thought I’d update everyone anyway.’
She captioned the video: “I wasn’t sure if I was going to post this or not and ignore my UGLY crying face.”
‘But I said I was sharing my journey and this is the harsh but true reality of IVF and infertility. Nothing is safe. Now is the time to heal. Mentally and physically.’
She is now happier than ever with gas engineer TJ O’Reilly (pictured)