When a celebrity complains about how ‘hard’ their lives are, that would make anyone want to roll their eyes. Yet, when it comes to the hardships of pregnancy, women kind of have to sympathize with them. A difficult pregnancy is something that no one can escape. Even with help from the best team of nannies, assistants, personal drivers, and doctors that money (and fame) can buy, it can’t make up for the pain of pregnancy complications and emotional turmoil going on inside the female body.

Some celebrities have been candid and open about their difficult pregnancy. While others simply just make us want to gag. Remember Gisele Bundchen’s painless birth that she compared to meditation? We don’t want to remember it either. Then, there are those you admire for keeping up their picture perfect glow even though they’re going through horrific health complications during their pregnancy.

We’re lifting our champagne glasses to you Kate Middleton. We’ve rounded up a list of celebrities who had these horrific first pregnancies that scarred them. Ironically, the fear and disdain of these first pregnancies weren’t always enough to stop them from welcoming baby number two into the world. It’s the child they love. It’s the pregnancy they hate and are scarred, as they’re sure to let us know on Instagram.

15 Jessica Simpson - Took Eating For Two To Heart

“I feel like I have a bowling ball sitting on my hoo-ha,” Jessica Simpson revealed to Jimmy Kimmel when she was pregnant with her first child, daughter Maxwell. The singer and business mogul actually did look like she had a bowling ball tucked underneath her shirt. During her first pregnancy she gained a 50lbs. “I was so insecure. I couldn’t even believe what I weighed,” she revealed on Good Morning America. “I let myself indulge in everything I wanted, because it was the first time I was ever pregnant and I wanted to enjoy it.”

Indulge she did, as she admitted to buttering Pop Tarts and indulging in anything filled with sugar. And, when that sugar and butter weight didn’t magically fall off after birth, Jessica admitted that she was a little ‘shocked’.

14 Mariah Carey - More Than Just Weight Gain

Sure, by her gushing Instagram posts we know that she loves her kids, but has Mariah Carey had anything nice to say about her pregnancy with twins Moroccan and Monroe? Not if you listen to some of things that have come out of her mouth. “I felt the absolute worst! Pregnancy was probably the hardest thing I’ll ever go through. I was miserable!” After a miscarriage, Mariah had to change her lifestyle and undergo fertility treatments in order to be able to conceive.

However, the joy of being pregnant was overshadowed by the numerous health problems she experienced. While pregnant she developed gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, high blood pressure, and excessive weight gain that saw her weight blossom by 70lbs! “I don’t think I would try for that ever again. I really don’t know if I can make it through after what I went through, it was really tough.”

13 Salma Hayek - Down Syndrome Scare

“I gained a lot of weight. I had gestational diabetes. The pregnancy was really difficult for me.” Salma Hayek wasn’t shy about explaining the difficulties of being pregnant with her daughter Valentina to Oprah Winfrey. Even her husband, Francois-Henri Pinault, wasn’t shy in telling the press about some of the fears the couple had gone through. “In fact, we were told the baby had Down syndrome until late May 2007.” He stated at the family court in New York.

Thankfully, Valentina was born healthy and strong a few months later in September 2007. And, it was the first time that the stunning actress saw herself ‘disfigured’ from the 50lbs weight gain that came with her pregnancy. At 41 years old, the actress had to work hard to get her body back. “It takes nine months to get it, and nine months to lose it. It’s been really hard.” Yet, if the years following taught us anything, Salma Hayek got her body back!

12 Kelly Clarkson - Severe Dehydration

Sadly, for many women morning sickness just comes with the territory of being pregnant. However, some moms-to-be experience it worse than others. When Kelly Clarkson admitted that, “I’m familiar with all-day sickness,” during an interview with Gayle King on CBS This Morning, we’re sure many moms could relate. However, when it came to her next statement, maybe not so much. “I have to get IVs and fluids, because I get so dehydrated.” That’s just sad.

She even admitted to Ellen DeGeneres that, “I vomit a good dozen times a day.” Yikes! It got so bad that it hurt the Grammy winning musician’s vocal chords, leading her to believe that she might have to retire. Yet, the terrible experience was for a good cause, her daughter River. In Kelly’s words getting to “pop out magical unicorns”, is worth all the pain and hard labor in the end.

11 Jaime Pressly- No Longer 'Good Looking'

“As a new mom I’m supposed to go on about how wonderful it was to be pregnant. The truth is I love my baby to bits, but the rest of it sucked. Pregnancy was the biggest killer for me. I hated it.” We’re sorry you felt that way Jamie, but at least the actress was bold enough to say what many women have and will feel about being pregnant. For the ‘My Name is Earl’ actress, pregnancy brought about a host of unwanted symptoms such as a roller coaster of emotions, skin discoloration, and weight gain.

“I’m used to looking hot. I just wanted to cry all the time.” Apparently, the idea of not being hot had Jamie hold off another pregnancy for a good ten years. Jamie and boyfriend Hamzi Hijazi announced in June 2017 that they are expecting twins.

10 Adriana Lima - Only Weighed 4lbs

Adriana Lima might forever be known as that Victoria’s Secret model that walked the catwalk in lingerie eight weeks after giving birth. She battled off the excess baby weight with two 2- hour workout sessions daily with a personal trainer and a high-protein diet. Yet, few people know that the supermodel had another battle during her pregnancy as well. Adriana was placed under bed rest for two weeks prior to delivery with preeclampsia. Some of the symptoms can include nausea, changes in vision, shortness of breath, high blood pressure, headaches, and pains in the lower back and abdominal area.

She gave birth to her daughter Valentina, who at only 4.4 lbs. was ‘the smallest in the whole hospital.” While Adriana related to People Magazine that the experience was stressful, she did also praise her doctors and her ex-husband Marko Jaric for their support.

9 Chrissy Teigan - Recovery Nightmare

You have to respect (if not love) model and Television host Chrissy Teigen for her openness and honesty. She and her husband musician, John Legend tried for years to start a family until they finally found success with IVF. “Emotionally, it could be very hard. You don’t want to get your hopes up, but of course you do.” Chrissy spoke candidly with SELF-magazine about her struggles to have a family. After the birth of their daughter Luna, Chrissy struggled with postpartum depression and anxiety.

In an essay for Glamour she wrote, “I had everything I needed to be happy. And, yet, for much of the last year, I felt unhappy. I have postpartum depression. How can I feel this way?” For the Former Sports Illustrated model, it was a scary time, yet she got through it. “I still hope to give Luna a few siblings. Postpartum hasn’t changed that.”

8 Kate Middleton - Barely Got Through It

Speaking of morning sickness, Kate Middleton, a.k.a. the Duchess with amazing hair and dimples, had a nightmarish pregnancy with her first royal bub, Prince George. She was diagnosed with hyperemesis gravidarum. What is that you ask? It’s a severe form of morning sickness that can cause fainting, rib fractures, blown out eardrums, and retinal detachment. Some women have even experienced their nails falling off due to malnutrition. After being diagnosed with something that severe, we’re not surprised that she called her natural birth ‘perfect’.

Thankfully hyperemesis gravidarum affects less than 3% of women. Unfortunately, Kate Middleton was one of them. Prince George was so delightful and healthy that Kate didn’t shy away from becoming pregnant again with her second child, Princess Charlotte. Unfortunately, she was diagnosed with hyperemesis gravidarum during her second pregnancy as well.

7 Kim Kardashian West - It Had To Be Surgically Removed

It was a surprise to see Kim Kardashain pregnant again with baby number two after the terrible pregnancy she had with her first child, daughter North West. The reality-star openly admitted how much she detested being pregnant by writing on her website that, “pregnancy is the worst experience.” She not only had to endure being pregnant with preeclampsia and the discomfort of gaining 70lbs, but a terrible delivery as well.

After giving birth, Kim had placenta acreta. On her website she wrote that it’s a condition when “the placenta grows too deeply into the uterine wall." The end result was that the placenta had to be surgically removed. “It was the most painful experience of my life!” On top of that she had to have another surgery to remove the scar tissue. “The pregnancy, I wouldn’t really wish that upon anyone. Anyone.” she shared with Ellen DeGeneres on her show in 2014.

6 Sophie Ellis Bextor - Not The Pregnancy She Wanted

If you’re not familiar with this British pop star from across the pond, Google a few pictures and you’ll see that with her picture perfect legs and porcelain skin, it’s hard not to think of her as having a perfect life with rock star hubby Richard Jones. Not to mention that she has a voice that has catapulted her to the ranks of having several best-selling albums. Yet, when it comes to giving birth, life isn’t easy or conventional for this gorgeous Brit. “It was very traumatic,” Sophie has said about her first pregnancy.

“I developed pre-eclampsia when I was about seven months pregnant with Sonny and had to have an emergency caesarean.” Her son was born premature and the drama for the family continued with her son staying in the hospital for five weeks.

5 Snooki - Pregnancy Is Gross

“It sucks. The whole process- it’s annoying. It’s irritation. It’s pregnancy!” Leave it to Snooki to shock us with her description of pregnancy. The reality-TV star wrote a book called ‘Baby Bumps’ in which she hopes to give women an honest account of what happens during pregnancy. “A lot of books don’t tell you the truth like you’re going to pee on yourself, how disguising pregnancy is, but in the end you have child so it’s all worth it, but the whole pregnancy is just gross,” the MTV star revealed to Fox News.

She has also spoken about the cramps, the bloating, and the mood swings, and the 50lbs weight gain that blocked her view of her… errr vagina. Yet, for as much as Snooki hates pregnancy, she’s not too scared to do it again, for the joy of expanding her family.

4 Brooke Mueller - Rehab Baby

If you’re familiar with Charlie Sheen and his drug-fuelled antics, then you might know the name Brooke Mueller. She was married to the ‘Two & a Half Men’ actor when she gave birth to their twin sons. However, the couple hid a little secret from her obstetrician. According to Radar.com, “Brooke was extremely afraid of being criminally charged with child endangerment because of her drug use while pregnant, so nothing was said.” While pregnant she went to rehab twice for her addiction to crystal methamphetamine.

Radar.com also had a source say, “The fact that she couldn’t stay sober while carrying Bob and Max caused Charlie great anguish.” Unfortunately, for Brooke her drug use is a battle that saw her check herself into rehab for the 20^th time when the boys were toddlers. The boys were put in temporary custody with Denise Richards, Charlie’s former wife.

3 Trista Sutter - Pain Was Unbearable

She found love on ABC’s ‘The Bachelorette’ and a fairy book marriage to Ryan Sutter. Yet, when it came to expanding her family, the Sutters experienced anything but a fairy-tale. Trista experienced nausea and pain during her final month of pregnancy so severe that she had to go the hospital where she was diagnosed with HELLP syndrome. Few of us are familiar with HELLP syndrome. It affects 10% of women who are diagnosed with preeclampsia and only 5-10% of births in the world are even affected by preeclampsia.

“The risks are seizures and coma, so they kept me overnight for observation. I can’t remember much the next day. My liver was failing,” Trista spoke about that moment. Her son Max was born four weeks early via a C-section and weighed 5 lbs. He stayed in the hospital for ten days. Yet, years later the family is doing well and very thankful.

2 Bryce Dallas Howard - Recovery Was Brutal

“How can I take care of my son if I can’t take care of myself?” When a new mother has these continuous thoughts it’s easy to fall into paranoid delusions. Bryce Dallas-Howard welcomed pregnancy and all that came with it with open arms. “I loved being pregnant. Yes, I threw up every day for six months, and yes the stretch marks were obscene. But, I treasured every moment.”

Yet, in a recent essay for Goop, she penned that the minute her son was born, she felt nothing. She went on to describe the ‘emotional amnesia’ that followed calling it a ‘black hole’ and ‘a nightmare’. Similar to Chrissy Teigan, the ‘Jurassic World’ actress experienced post partum depression. “Before Theo was born, I had been in good humor about the 80-pound weight gain, but I was now mortified by it.”

1 Laura Bush - Liver Failure

Did you know that Laura Bush found out she was pregnant the day that she was accepted at the adoption agency? The former First Lady not only had difficulty conceiving, but she has a difficult pregnancy too. She was diagnosed with preeclampsia. The condition can have symptoms such as high blood pressure and water retention. In severe cases symptoms can include pain in the abdomen, blurred vision, vomiting, and shortness of breath.

In the severest of cases it can cause liver failure, which is actually what sent Mrs. Bush to the hospital for an emergency C-section. “If I don’t get at last one healthy baby from this pregnancy I will never forgive myself,” Laura spoke of the difficult time. Fortunately, she welcomed two healthy, but premature, babies into the world.

Sources: Self.com, People.com, Today.com, DailyMail.co.uk, VH1.com, Parents.com, HollywoodLife.com, NYDailyNews.com, Celebitchy.com, ScientificAmerican.com, Goop.com, FoxNews.com, Express.co.uk