Vicky Pattison has revealed she has decided to freeze her eggs after deciding she is in a place where "my heart wants children".
The former Geordie Shore star, 34, who recently got engaged to Ercan Ramadan whilst on a luxurious holiday in Dubai, shared her dreams of becoming a mum as she took to Instagram on Monday.
Vicky said she has thought about having her eggs frozen for "a long time" but put it off because she was scared to do so.
Egg freezing is a method used to help a woman's ability to get pregnant in the future. Eggs are harvested from the ovaries and then frozen unfertilized and stored for later use.
Alongside a selection of photos, Vicky penned a lengthy caption: "I wasn't always so sure I wanted children.. I remember going on @loosewomen years ago, just after the jungle & saying that I didn't think I wanted to be a mother- I was in my 20's & woeful arrogant enough to think that I had everything figured out & I wouldn't change my mind!"
She joked she was a "bit of a t***" and "a lot has changed" since then.
"I think when you get older what you want out of life just naturally changes you know? The late nights & bar hopping didn't do it for me anymore.. I wanted something more from life."
The reality star gushed over her fiancé, who appeared on TOWIE for a short stint, praising him for making her feel "safe and secure".
She continued: "So now I'm finally in a place where my heart wants to have children, my head knows it's not necessarily the right moment for us & unfortunately my body doesn't have the luxury of loads time... F**king Mother Nature eh?
"So today I took my first step towards freezing my eggs."
Vicky said that she had been thinking of going through the procedure for some time.
"I think the only explanation I can give for waiting so long was because I was scared."
"And I think I thought that starting this process meant accepting that I probably wouldn't be having children anytime soon- which even though I know is 110% the right thing for us & our relationship right now- was none the less a difficult pill to swallow."
She promised fans that she would keep everyone up to date with the process.
The star encouraged other women to book appointments with fertility clinics, adding: "we all deserve the future we envision for ourselves".
She shared a fresh-faced photo of her beaming and another of her with a needle in her arm.
In one snap she was sitting in a gynaecological chair, covered by a tissue sheet.
Friends and fans flocked to the comment section.
"Omg I'm a emotional wreck reading this babe I wish you all the luck in the world you and @ercan_ram will make the best mummy and daddy."
"So lucky to have you as a role model," Love Island's Faye Winter wrote.
