Hollywood actress Anne Hathaway has shared a poignant chapter from her life, revealing that she experienced a miscarriage in 2015 while portraying a pregnant character in a play.
The 41-year-old Academy Award-winning actress disclosed that her initial pregnancy “didn’t work out,” remarking,
“I was doing a play and I had to give birth on stage every night.”
Hathaway disclosed that the miscarriage took place during a six-week engagement of the solo off-Broadway production “Grounded.”
Despite grappling with the personal turmoil, she maintained a facade of normalcy, admitting, “I pretended everything was fine,” though she confided in close friends about her ordeal during their backstage visits.
In the interview, Anne Hathaway said she “had to keep it real” with her friends when they would visit her backstage after performances.
“It was too much to keep it in when I was onstage pretending everything was fine,” she said.
“So when it did go well for me, having been on the other side of it – where you have to have the grace to be happy for someone – I wanted to let my sisters know, ‘You don’t have to always be graceful. I see you and I’ve been you,” the Oscar-winning actor and mother of two said.
“It’s really hard to want something so much and to wonder if you’re doing something wrong,” she added.
The ‘Devil Wears Prada’ luminary celebrated the arrival of her first son with spouse Adam Shulman in March 2016. Three years later, she joyously shared news of her second pregnancy.
However, in an Instagram post, she candidly hinted at her fertility challenges, asserting, “It’s not for a movie,” alongside a snapshot showcasing her burgeoning baby bump.
Hathaway extended heartfelt empathy to those grappling with infertility and conception difficulties, stating,
“Please know it was not a straight line to either of my pregnancies. Sending you extra love.”
In her latest interview, the actor elaborated on her motive behind penning the Instagram post.
“Given the anguish I endured during my pregnancy journey, it would have felt insincere to share only the jubilant moments when I know the reality is far more complex for everyone,” she explained.
Hathaway emphasized her refusal to feel ashamed of a situation that, statistically, is actually quite common.
Reflecting on her own miscarriage experience, Hathaway expressed astonishment at the prevalence of such occurrences. She discovered that many of her acquaintances had undergone similar ordeals.
“I wondered, where is this dialogue? Why do we endure unnecessary isolation?” she questioned.
Recognizing the potential harm caused by silence, she resolved to break the taboo and openly address the topic.
“The thing that broke my heart, blew my mind, and gave me hope was that for three years after, almost daily, a woman came up to me in tears and I would just hold her, because she was carrying this [pain] around and suddenly it wasn’t all hers anymore,” she added.
