Kandi Burruss Opens Up About Surrogacy Backlash
Kandi Burruss shared her surrogacy journey on The Real Housewives of Atlanta. Burruss and her husband are grateful to their surrogate for helping birth their daughter, Blaze. But the singer and reality star says not everyone was receptive to her decision to use a surrogate.
Kandi Burruss’ health issues prevented her from carrying another child
Burruss married Todd Tucker in 2014 and decided to have children right away. But after two years of not conceiving, she learned that she had health issues that were interfering in her ability to become pregnant.
In a 2015 interview with Madame Noire, Burruss revealed that she discovered she had uterine fibroids. “We weren’t trying to prevent it for a couple of years, and nothing was happening.”
Related: ‘RHOA’ Star Kandi Burruss Says Family Judged Her for Having Baby Via Surrogate
Per WebMD, uterine fibroids are considered “benign lumps” (or tumors) that “grow on the uterus.” In some cases, they can cause issues for women who are trying to become pregnant.
“We realized I had a fibroid—a big one—inside the cavity of the uterus where your baby would implant,” Burruss told Madame Noire. She underwent surgery to remove the fibroid.
In order to become pregnant, the couple used the assistance of IVF. They welcomed their son, Ace, in 2016. But within a few years, they wanted another child. Burruss had embryos from her previous IVF treatment and opted to use a surrogate the next time around due to not wanting more issues with fibroids.
The ‘RHOA’ star says she received negative comments about using a surrogate
Tucker and Burruss welcomed their daughter Blaze via a surrogate in 2019. During an appearance on People Magazine’s Me Becoming Mom podcast, Burruss says she was caught off guard by some people’s negative comments about her surrogacy journey.
“It really hurt my feelings. I don’t like really talking about it because it makes me emotional,” she said. “I don’t think she was trying to hurt my feelings. But when she saw it, or heard that I was doing it, she was just like, ‘Aren’t you afraid that you’re not gonna bond with your baby?’”
Burruss says she realized that older women from different generations simply don’t know enough about surrogacy. “She’s older, so I guess her initial thinking is like just because somebody doesn’t physically have their baby that they won’t be able to have that same bond as a mother who physically pushed the baby out,” she said. “And I can tell you for sure, if you ever had a doubt in your mind, that is not true.”
For Burruss, having a surrogate did not affect her bond with Blaze. She previously told the media outlet, “But what I will say is when Blaze got here, I didn’t feel any less of a connection than I have with my previous children,” Burruss said. “I still feel super bonded when I come in the room. Blaze lights up — her smile is so huge when I walk in there — so it’s still this same love, the same connection.”
In total, Burruss has three children, one of which is from a previous relationship. Tucker also has an adult daughter from a previous relationship.
