Paloma Faith has admitted fertility treatment caused a "strain" on her marriage.
The 43-year-old singer split from Leyman Lahcine - with whom she has two daughters, aged eight and three - in 2022 after nine years together but cracks first started appearing in their relationship when they began having IVF to conceive their first child as the 'Only Love Can Hurt Like This' harboured "resentment" towards the artist because of what she had to put her body through, even though it was him with fertility problems.
Speaking to Davina McCall on her 'Begin Again' podcast, Paloma said: "When we first started trying, I had previously become pregnant quite easily and so I was concerned.
"It does irritate me that science, because it is mainly dominated by men, is that if it is a male fertility problem, which it was in our case, it is still the woman that has to endure the brunt of the stuff.
"There has been no breakthrough. He was devastated the whole time and said, 'If there's something I can take, or I can do injections. Why does it have to fall on you?'
"But it did, and it does. He was empathetic but I think that put a strain on our relationship in itself because his view was 'You're so hardworking, breadwinner and all I had to do was this and I can't do it.'
"It was difficult because I knew I could just conceive naturally and I think that put a strain on us because I'm not someone who buries my feelings. I just say, 'This is frustrating'. "
And when Paloma was keen to go through treatment again to have a second child, Leyman warned he didn't think their marriage would cope with the strain.
She said: "The birth was not ideal and then when we came to lockdown the fertility clinic called me and said, 'We're still open, do you want to have another baby?'.
"I said to him, 'I really want another baby, I'm not working as much. I've got more time to relax. Can I do it?' He said, 'I don't think we'll make it as a couple.'
"I felt resentment, I just felt alone. There's this mid-life thing and you're looking at a perimenopause around the corner. It was the last chance saloon.
"I just had it in my head, I need to give this child a sibling. I felt like a single parent even in a relationship."
Despite their "terrible" split, Paloma and Leyman are now very close and she considers him one of her "best friends".
She said: "We have a lot of respect for each other. We still say I love you. It will be difficult for the person I end up with but it has to be that way.
"Initially [the split] was terrible, we began again and we remembered all the bits we liked about each other. I still think he is one of my best friends.
"Sometimes if we are emotional or tired we get a bit upset about that. We're also grateful that there is a friendship."
