For a lot of people, the decision to start a family can be an adventure that is filled with excitement, anticipation, and overwhelming joy. For others, conceiving a child is nothing short of stressful, frustrating, and even embarrassing at times. For every woman who is fortunate enough to get pregnant with ease, there are others who seriously struggle with fertility despite their endless fight to become parents. It can be easy to take your ability to bare children for granted if you haven’t been on the opposite end of the spectrum, especially when you might never even know that someone else has been desperately trying to have a baby to no avail.
Even though they may have more money, fame and resources than the average person, celebrities are no different than anyone else when it comes to their relentless efforts toward parenthood. While there are some stars who seriously struggle when it comes to making a baby, others can’t seem to take care of the kids they already have. There have been a number of famous faces who have exhibited unstable, irrational, and downright irresponsible behavior that has compromised their ability to properly parent their children.
These stars can’t get their act together and the ones who end up suffering most from their selfish actions are their own children. It can be understandably disappointing to see these stars push their responsibilities aside while others are so desperately trying to have children of their own. Here are 8 celebs who can’t have kids and 8 who shouldn’t have any more.
16 Giuliana Rancic: Hit With Heartbreak
While some celebs choose to stay silent about their tough path towards parenthood, others have been extremely candid about the severity of their situation. One star that undoubtedly comes to mind is Giuliana Rancic, who has been faced with various obstacles that stood in the way of her deep desire to become a mom. The television host didn’t realize that by the time she had decided she wanted to start a family at the age of 35 that the quality eggs had already significantly changed. In addition to her age, her low weight also played a role in her early struggles to stay pregnant.
Rancic underwent two rounds of IVF that ended in miscarriages and her third attempt at pregnancy was compromised when she unexpectedly was diagnosed with breast cancer. To make matters worse for the star, the medication that she was required to take to combat the cancer even furthered the likelihood of her being able to carry a child. Ultimately, Giuliana and her husband Bill turned to surrogacy and eventually welcomed their son, Duke, in 2012. While her journey to motherhood was no easy road, she took solace in the fact that she was finally able to have a baby of her own. However, trouble struck Rancic yet again when they set out to have a second child.
Their surrogate went on to have multiple miscarriages and any hope of having another biological child was lost when their last implanted embryo wasn't viable. In the end, Giuliana has said that she’s very open to the idea of adoption in order to expand her family even further, but for now she’s just grateful for what she has in spite of the many challenges she faced along the way.
15 Gabrielle Union: Endured Multiple Miscarriages
One of the more recent stars to go public with her battle to have children is Gabrielle Union. In her new book, the actress revealed that she has already experienced at least “eight or nine” miscarriages while trying to conceive with her husband, pro basketball player Dwayne Wade. While Union has spoken up about undergoing fertility treatments in the past, her shocking revelation was the first time she had spoken up about her devastating losses. Union delved deep into her infertility issues, stating, “For three years, my body has been a prisoner of trying to get pregnant — I’ve either been about to go into an IVF cycle, in the middle of an IVF cycle, or coming out of an IVF cycle.”
Gabrielle also noted that she never really envisioned being a mother until her step-children completely changed the way she saw parenthood. Despite being repeatedly let down by IVF treatments and suffering from the side effects that come along with them, Union miraculously remains positive. The star insists that she will stop at nothing to have a baby, saying that she and her hubby “remain bursting with love and ready to do anything to meet the child we’ve both dreamed of.”
14 Elizabeth Banks: Settled On Surrogacy
In the public eye, Elizabeth Banks was moving up in the world acting, but behind closed doors she and her husband were having an incredibly tough time trying to start a family of their own. After failing to succeed at getting pregnant the old fashioned way, Banks reached out to fertility doctors to figure out what exactly was causing her so much strife in her quest to become a mother. After a few IVF treatments that didn’t take, Elizabeth and her physician concluded that she would likely be unable to get pregnant. According to the star, her struggles stemmed from “a womb issue” and revealed that “the embryos wouldn’t implant.”
In a final attempt to have a child that was biologically both hers and her husbands, the couple sought out the help of a surrogate to carry their child. The actress has been very open about how taking a leap of faith with surrogacy has changed her life for the better, and in 2011 she finally was able to meet her son, Felix, who was birthed via gestational surrogate. Banks is confident that her path towards parenthood was the best choice for her and her family, and she welcomed her second son, Mangus, the same way the following year.
13 Hugh Jackman: It's Not Only Women
Most people might assume that infertility issues fall strictly in a woman’s territory, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. When a couple is putting forth all of their best efforts to get pregnant, both the man and the woman tend to be equally invested in the process. In the case of Hugh Jackman, he and his wife struggled immensely when it came to reproducing, and he was very vocal about their experiences and how he was supportive during their toughest times. The famed actor and his wife tried for years to get pregnant and had suffered through miscarriages before they decided that perhaps becoming biological parents just wasn’t in the cards for them.
Even though pregnancy was something that wouldn’t happen for the pair, they had always envisioned themselves adopting someday. In an interview about their journey as parents, Jackman revealed, “We thought we'd have a kid or two biologically and then adopt. But when we decided we'd had enough of IVF, we went ahead with adoption.” Despite all of the hardships they faced to get to where they are today, Hugh and his wife believe that adopting son Oscar and daughter Ava was ultimately their “destiny” and they wouldn't have had it any other way.
12 Jillian Michaels: Discouraged By Her Diagnosis
Coming to terms with the fact that you aren’t physically able to carry a child is never an easy pill to swallow, and Jillian Michaels had an especially difficult time accepting the gravity of her situation with infertility. Initially, the Biggest Loser star told media outlets that she would likely never become pregnant for the simple reason that she “can’t handle doing that to my body.” Of course, while bodily changes are a concern for most women, their fears are quickly brushed aside upon the realization that they would be welcoming a child into the world and it would all be worthwhile in the long run.
After digging a little deeper, it was clear that Jillian’s excuse about protecting her sculpted physique was just a way to mask an even greater fear: she was diagnosed with a condition called endometriosis and it would likely be tough for her to conceive a child. Michaels has admitted to feeling ashamed of her diagnosis, especially since she is best known for being in tip-top physical shape and has made a solid career out of being in the health and fitness industry. While having a medical condition is nothing to feel guilty about, Jillian decided to bypass pregnancy all together by choosing adoption as the means that would make her a mother.
The workout guru became a mom in 2012 when she adopted her daughter from Haiti, and shortly after she became a parent once again when her longtime partner gave birth to the couple’s son. Even though Michaels may not have been able to conceive naturally, she is thrilled with the way things turned out and couldn’t be more fulfilled as a loving mother of two.
11 Aisha Tyler: Chose Her Career Over Having Kids
Motherhood is a major goal for a lot of us, and trying to find a happy balance between work and having a fulfilling personal life can be a challenge. Despite what some people might think, it can be incredibly hard to “have it all” - especially when you want to be successful in everything you do. For Aisha Tyler, the decision to put her dreams of becoming a mother on the back burner to focus on her career in the entertainment industry wasn’t an easy one to make, but she never expected to face such hardship when the time finally came to start working on building a family.
The accomplished actress and television host has been keeping very busy over the years, hardly penciling in much down time in between her hectic schedule. Tyler, who married her college sweetheart Jeff Tietjens, recently discussed feeling defeated by fertility struggles during an episode of The Talk. The star stated that she had given hope of ever having a biological child of her own due to years of being unable to conceive. The couple tried just about everything to get pregnant including multiple rounds of IVF treatments that left them feeling hopeless.
Aisha cited her decision to move forward with her career as a major factor in her inability to have children later on in life, stating, “I was with someone at 19 and I was married at 23 and I didn’t want kids when I was in my 20's. I wasn’t mentally prepared to take care of them, I was focused on my career. Then when I got to be in my 40's and I thought about having kids, I wasn’t able to have kids naturally. I don’t regret it.”
10 Hoda Kotb: Cancer Left Her Unable To Concieve
Few women decide that they want to embark on the journey of parenthood well into their fifties, but Hoda Kotb surely an exception. The Today show host had been through an emotional roller coaster when it came down to wanting to be a mother, but she refused to give up her lifelong dream of having a baby. Recently, Hoda has been very vocal about her inability to conceive a child naturally after an unexpected battle with breast cancer. The aggressive treatments necessary to combat the disease left Hoda barren more than a decade ago, and about a year later her marriage succumbed to divorce.
While most people would feel defeated at being thrown so many curveballs all at once, Hoda decided to turn all of her negatives into positives by vowing to fulfill her main goal of becoming a mother. Although she had established herself as a staple on morning television, Hoda was internally struggling with her secret desire to raise a child.
Speaking to People magazine, the star revealed, “One of the things in my life I’ve always wanted was to be a mom” but no one really knew how serious she was until she actually made it happen. Earlier this year, Hoda announced that she had taken mommy matters into her own hands by adopting her daughter, Haley Joy. The star was overjoyed that her dreams became a reality, despite her struggles with being unable to have children biologically.
9 Tami Roman: Desperate To Give Her Beau A Baby
She may look better than ever and be dating a man who’s twenty years her junior, but Tami Roman found out the hard way that just because she feels youthful doesn’t mean she’s still able to get pregnant as easily as she once used to be. The 47 year old Real World alum and Basketball Wives star has been flaunting her relationship with Reggie Youngblood for the past couple of years, and the pair have been very adamant about trying to make a baby together. While Tami is already the mother to two grown daughters, her younger man has yet to be a father and has a strong desire to have children of his own. Of course, Tami wants to give her significant other everything he wants out of life, but she has had serious problems when it comes to making the possibility of a third child become a reality.
Given her advanced age and a number of other factors including that she is a smoker and has type two diabetes, Tami has been faced with an uphill battle when it comes to maintaining a viable pregnancy. Roman has visited fertility specialists and has even been pregnant a couple of times but all of her efforts resulted in miscarriages. While Tami knows that she’s fortunate enough to have already raised two healthy children, she has openly been unable to accept the idea that she may not be able to have anymore children at this point in her life.
8 Jenelle Evans: Prioritizes Men Before Her Children
Just because Jenelle Evans’ claim to fame was being featured on 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom doesn’t automatically mean that she’s an unfit mother. In fact, many of her co-stars have gone on to be wonderful parents despite the odds being stacked against them…but Jenelle, on the other hand, has proven time and time again that she’s simply too irresponsible to raise children. The reality star has birthed three babies by three different fathers and she has continuously put her brood on the back-burner in favor of partying and canoodling with one of her many boyfriends.
Viewers of the MTV series know that Jenelle has unapologetically put her romantic relationships in the forefront over spending quality time with her own children. On top of that, Jenelle relinquished custody of her oldest son, Jace, to her mother months after he was born. Instead of focusing on taking the necessary steps to straightening out her life to get her son back, she has continued to have more kids that she can’t seem to take care of. Evans has had numerous run-ins with the law, and she’s currently embroiled in another messy custody battle over her middle child, Kaiser. It’s pretty obvious that although claims to be a reliable parent, her actions have shown otherwise and she should seriously quit having kids for everyone's sake.
7 Michelle Duggar: Doesn't Know When Enough Is Enough
The Duggar family made national headlines when they scored a reality show about their distinctly massive brood. The series, initially titled 19 Kids and Counting was eventually expanded even further after Michelle and her husband, Jim Bob, welcomed an astounding twenty children into the world. While the devoutly religious family considers every child a blessing, many believe that Michelle and her husband have taken the idea of having a large family way too literally. Of course, the number of children they choose to have is entirely up to the couple, but it’s difficult not to have an opinion on the matter when just the thought of that many children is enough to make nearly anyone cringe.
After decades of making babies, Michelle doesn’t seem to realize that it’s probably time to retire her uterus once and for all. In 2011, Michelle’s 21st pregnancy tragically ended in a stillbirth, but even that wasn’t enough to stop her from wanting to try to make more children in the future. In 2014, the couple made a controversial and downright shocking visit to a fertility clinic to discuss the possibility of getting pregnant again. Now that many of her children are grown and have started having children of their own, it’s probably best if Michelle turns her attention toward being a grandmother rather than trying to have any more children.
6 Antonio Cromartie: Won't Stop Reproducing
If there was an award for being one of the most fertile men on the planet, Antonio Cromartie would probably be the undisputed champion. The NFL player has made headlines time and time again for his never-ending baby announcements. In fact, even though the professional athlete is only 33, he just recently welcomed his fourteenth child. To make matters even more complicated, Cromartie has at least seven baby mamas who he pays a substantial amount of child support to annually – over $336,000 to be exact.
Of course, that payout will only be rising because he just can’t seem to stop making babies. Cromartie even had a vasectomy while he was playing for the New York Jets in 2013, but either he’s lying or it didn’t work because he has fathered three more children since his alleged procedure. There’s no denying that having that many children with that many different women is downright careless and irresponsible, and although Antonio does appear to provide for his children the best he can it’s time to stop having any more children before he’s able to build he very own football team.
5 Katie Price: Desperate For A Half-Dozen
While Katie Price may have found instant fame as a British glamour model and television personality, the star has had her fair share of blunders when it comes to her love life. Over the years, Price has been notorious for engaging in high-profile romances that usually crash and burn about as fast as they start. While there wouldn’t be much to worry about if Katie’s revolving door of men only had an effect on her, but she has five children to take into consideration and she has already expressed interest in adding more to the mix. Price gave birth to her first child, Harvey, in 2002 but the boy’s alleged father, Dwight Yorke, categorically denied paternity.
While DNA tests did confirm that he was the father, Harvey still struggled with a host of health issues including blindness, autism, and difficulties with mobility. While a single parent raising a child with special needs can never be easy, Katie insisted on having a few more kids. Not long after she welcomed two more children with singer Peter Andre, and then another two with Kieran Hayler. Now a mother of five with multiple failed marriages under her belt and numerous tabloid scandal to contend with, you might think that Katie would want to close the door on the possibility of having any more children – but think again.
Earlier this month, the star confidently told reporters, "I am going to get a surrogate. I’m looking for a surrogate at the moment in America because I want another baby but I don’t want to carry one at the moment." We think Price should probably focus on the kids she has before carrying on about having any more.
4 Kevin Federline: Six Kids With Three Baby Mamas
Nobody had any idea who Kevin Federline even was before he romanced one of the biggest popstars in the world, and aside from being a six-time baby daddy, his past-faced romance with Britney Spears is probably what he’s best known for. Kevin, commonly referred to as “K. Fed” during the days when he was a hot topic in the tabloids, was already a father of two when the world started to really pay attention to him. The former backup dancer had been in a long-term relationship with actress Shar Jackson before he left her high and dry in favor of the iconic singer.
The former couple already shared a daughter, Kori, and shortly after the birth of their son, Kaleb, the two split for good. Speaking of how she felt at the time, Jackon told the press that Federline’s betrayal "Wasn't like just breaking up a relationship. It was like breaking up a family”. We all know that Kevin infamously went on to marry Britney and their relationship resulted in two children - Sean Preston and Jayden James. Their union was short-lived and the divorced shortly after their second son was born…but Federline was far from done when it came to sewing his wild oats.
He married a woman named Victoria Prince in 2013 and he also welcomed another two children with her, daughters Jordan and Peyton. Although Kevin has admittedly come a long way from his bad boy wannabe rapper days, it’s safe to say that he should probably stop making babies with every woman he meets.
3 Eddie Murphy: Repeatedly Denied Paternity
He may be a professional actor and comedian, but Eddie Murphy could easily be considered a professional at making babies. The notorious star actually has a current total of nine children with five different women, but who’s counting?
Murphy can’t seem to stop when it comes to repopulating the planet, but he probably should try. His offspring ranges in age from late 20’s right down to toddlerhood, and in recent years the 56 year old has even welcomed a new bundle of joy with his girlfriend at the moment, Paige Butcher. Although Eddie appears to have a solid relationship with the majority of his children and most of their mothers, he struggled to admit that he had fathered a child with former Spice Girl Melanie Brown in 2007. Eddie denied time and time again that he was responsible for Mel’s pregnancy, but when the baby was born a paternity test proved that he was the father after all.
Even though Murphy was proven to be the parent, he surely doesn’t act like one. Unlike the rest of his children, Eddie is minimally involved with Mel’s daughter and takes little responsibility for his role as her father. Needless to say, someone should probably tell Eddie Murphy it’s time to stop making babies until he steps up to the plate for the ones he already has.
2 Tori Spelling : More Kids Than She Can Afford
It’s no secret that Tori Spelling loves everything about motherhood and that she wants even more children than she already has, but it’s also no secret that she is deep in debt and can barely provide for her five kids as it is now. Tori and her husband, Dean McDermott, share five children together but not everything for the pair has been as glamorous as you might think. The couple went through a very public cheating scandal that almost broke them apart, and during her last pregnancy Spelling was faced with some very serious health concerns that put both her and her baby at risk.
Of course, providing for that many children can take a huge toll on someone’s finances, and Tori has had a lengthy history of money problems that have only gotten worse over time. Despite all of those factors, Tori has recently revealed that she and her beau might try for baby number six sometime in the near future. The star insisted that she “loves being pregnant” and felt comfort in the connection between her and her babies while they were in the womb. Considering all of the many reasons why Spelling shouldn’t have more kids, it’s amazing that she doesn’t think it’s time to quit while she’s (barely) ahead.
1 Charlie Sheen: Too Troubled To Raise Children
Everyone knows that Charlie Sheen has a host of issues when it comes to his hard-partying lifestyle and his struggles with sobriety. In fact, Sheen has managed to make quite a spectacle of himself over the years for his obscene behavior and outspoken opinions, but all of that doesn’t seem to have stopped him from bringing babies into the world even though he can barely take care of himself. The actor has five children in total, and while his oldest daughter is well into adulthood, his four youngest still need a reliable father figure in their lives. Charie has two girls with actress Denise Richards, as well as twin boys with Brooke Mueller. Sheen has been in and out of rehab and has had very public legal issues, but the star has also lost custody of his kids at one point because he was proven to be unfit. It’s clear to see that Charlie Sheen has enough to deal with already without the thought of adding anymore innocent children into his wayward way of living.
Sources: TheSun.co.uk, DailyMail.co.uk, People.com