Strictly star Sam Quek's heartbreaking hidden tragedy

Couple's decade of heartbreak, loss and IVF treatment before 'miracle' baby

BBC sports presenter Sam Quek has kept her personal life private - but her journey to motherhood has been an emotional rollercoaster

The Strictly Come Dancing star, 33, and her husband Tom Mairs struggled for a decade to have a child before welcoming their "miracle" baby girl Molly last month.

In a new interview, the Olympic hockey player has broken her silence on the heartbreak she suffered along the way.

She told The Sun: "We have had years of heartache and, especially with my job on TV, it is hard to watch everyone else getting pregnant.

"I know so many people go through this and I didn't want to talk about it before because it can be triggering for people.

"But I am really pleased to be able to talk about it now because it's given me a sense of closure to that chapter in my life."

Pregnancy heartache

Sam and Tom, who married in 2018, started trying for a baby in 2012.

But after three years of no success, they sought help from a fertility clinic.

Sam underwent a number of IVF cycles, but they were all unsuccessful.

In 2016, she suffered a miscarriage at 12 weeks.

Sam said: "That was devastating. I had been pregnant for 12 weeks and I had just finished commentating on the Olympics in Rio.

"I had been sick throughout the whole competition and I thought it was because I was tired.

"But when I got back, I started bleeding and I knew I was losing the baby.

"I had to go to work the next day and commentate on the Paralympics. It was the hardest thing I have ever done.

"I just felt like I couldn't tell anyone. I felt like a failure.

"I kept thinking, 'Why me?' I felt like I had done everything right. I had been healthy, I had taken all the right supplements, but it still wasn't happening.

"I just felt like I wasn't good enough."

'Miracle' baby

In 2019, Sam and Tom decided to have one final round of IVF.

Sam said: "We were both physically and emotionally exhausted, but we decided to give it one last shot.

"And then we got pregnant with Molly."

Sam gave birth to Molly in March 2023, and she said it was "the most amazing feeling in the world".

She said: "I can't believe how lucky we are to have her. She is our little miracle.

"I feel like a different person now that I am a mum. I am so much more confident and I feel like I can achieve anything.

"I am so grateful for everything that I have been through, because it has made me the woman I am today."