TOWIE icon Danielle Armstrong has opened up about her endometriosis battle - and how she feared she wouldn't ever be able to have children with the condition.
The reality star, 33, was left devastated when she was told there was a chance she wouldn't be able to conceive.
However, she was blessed with daughter Orla in 2020 - who turns two in May.
But it wasn't easy for Danielle, after she was diagnosed with the condition in December 2018.
Danielle said she "sat in a car park on her own and cried" after a visit to the doctors.
"I didn't want to tell anyone about it," the Essex beauty told The Sun.
Danielle described her mum as a "worrier" and said she wouldn't tell her anything about the doctors until afterwards.
She also explained how one of her close friends was "suffering from breast cancer" at the time, and didn't feel it was the right time to address her issues.
Danielle's previous relationship with former footballer Daniel Spiller was also coming to an end - so she felt hopeless.
"It wasn't like I was going to be trying for a baby any time soon, but it was in the back of my mind — what if I meet the person I want to have children with and it's not possible?" she continued to the publication.
She added: "I had always wanted to be a mum and if that had been taken away from me because of this condition it would have been awful."
Endometriosis, which affects one in ten women, is a disorder where the type of tissue that lines the inside of your uterus begins growing in other places, such as the ovaries and fallopian tubes.
Symptoms include excessive cramps, heavy menstrual flow and pain during intercourse, and it can take as long as a decade to get a diagnosis.
Danielle fell pregnant with her daughter - who she shares with childhood sweetheart Tom Edney - 18 months after being diagnosed.
At the age of 30, Danielle decided to visit the doctor after suffering years of bad period pain and heavy periods - which she thought was "normal".
A friend suggested Danielle visit her GP to get checked, and, the reality star ended up being diagnosed after a few "back and forth appointments".
The mum-of-one revealed just six months after being told she might not be able to conceive naturally, she started dating Tom.
"We actually moved in after two weeks. Which is crazy, but when you know, you know," she said.
"I hadn't had any treatment for endometriosis, then six weeks later I found out I was pregnant."
Danielle gave birth to Orla, weighing 8lb 11oz, in May 2020.
She describes her little girl as her "bestie".
While there is no cure for endometriosis, there are many ways to treat symptoms, depending on the patient's age and whether or not they want to fall pregnant at some stage.
Medication can be used to ease pain, the contraceptive pill can help by making periods lighter and keyhole surgery can target and destroy affected tissues.
Speaking about having more children in the future, Danielle says her partner wants five.
She said: "But I'm the one that's got to push them out. I've got this feeling we're going to end up with three."
