The actress and her husband Paul, 35, were
desperate for a sibling for three-year-old daughter Flame but feared
Tina was too old to get pregnant
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The actress and her husband Paul, 35, were desperate for a sibling for three-year-old daughter Flame but feared Tina was too old to get pregnant.
So a surrogate mum will make their dream come true.
But in a move that will outrage “designer baby” critics, the couple will select the sex of their IVF embryo. They long to have a son.
Defiant Tina, who faced a backlash after getting pregnant with Flame aged 50, told the Sunday People : “Some will say I am selfish and irresponsible for having another child at 54.
“They will moralise and abuse me – even more so for selecting the sex of our baby – and everyone is entitled to their opinion. But I don’t give two ****s for what they think.”
And after spending time with her and her daughter, you have to agree.
Flame is happy, healthy, beautiful, intelligent, can already write her name, count to 30 and do the alphabet. And she adores her mummy and daddy.
Tina married super-fit former soldier Paul in 2009.
They had IVF at a Cyprus clinic in 2013. With donor eggs and Paul’s sperm, Tina had two embryos transferred but lost one. She developed life-threatening pre-eclampsia before giving birth.
She said: “We still have eight embryos frozen in Cyprus. And whenever we went there I’d cry, moan and say to Paul, ‘Please let me have another one.’ But Paul won’t let me risk my life.”
Tina memorably lost half her body weight after having a gastric band fitted in 2010.
She went from a size 28 to a six and had surgery to remove excess skin. In 2015, she was rushed to hospital after an infected breast implant exploded.
Paul says: “I couldn’t let Tina risk another pregnancy. Flame and I love her too much. At the same time, I thought, ‘These embyros are a part of me... potential siblings for Flame.’”
The couple flew to Cyprus to authorise disposal of the embryos.
“You have to be psychologically assessed before surrogacy and these doctors are rigorous.”
Tina has been entirely open about her past mental health issues. She is bipolar, has OCD, is an alcoholic who has been sober for 15 years and has had therapy.
But she has turned all those experiences around and now works as a counsellor and life coach. She also battled back from bankruptcy five years ago.
Tina and Paul are naturally nervous about meeting their surrogate at the Cyprus clinic and hope to form a close bond. She said: “The girls see it as a job, a means to an education or getting on in the world.
“They are given an apartment, food, amenities, everything. Paul and I will be there while the embryos are implanted and I will go every four weeks for her tests and scan. We can be with her when she gives birth.
“But most of the fee is paid on signature, on adoption.” Tina is, as ever, ready to be “slagged off” by strangers and says: “I do interviews about gastric bands and IVF, in papers or on Loose Women, and people go, ‘Here she is again, banging on like an old fishwife.’
“But, love me or hate me, I am a decent person and I think I can help other people.
“Dr Halil Tekin, my surgeon, has got more than 30,000 women pregnant.
"So I’ve done my bit for them. I know I’ve helped people but I don’t want a medal.
"So if 100 trolls want to say what a selfish, ugly, wrinkly, loud, gobby, brassy old trollop I am – bring it on. I have a wonderful, loving husband 20 years younger who deserves a couple of children.
“I have no intention of shuffling off this planet yet and I’ll probably live until I’m 104 because I am that belligerent and wilful and determined.
“But if I don’t, well then Flame has a sibling and Paul has two children, not just one.
“So I wish myself good luck – even if you don’t.”
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