'Love Island' star Chris Hughes reveals he is infertile, had his sperm frozen so he can start a family with girlfriend Jesy Nelson
'Love Island' star Chris Hughes admitted in a recent interview that he might be infertile, has had his sperm frozen, and had three surgeries on his left testicle.
The 26-year-old, who is dating Little Mix singer Jesy Nelson, wants to settle down and have a family in the future, which will be complicated as he suffers from male infertility.
"I might be infertile. I learnt [sic] things about male fertility that really surprised me. Fertility is often a subject that guys don't consider until it might be too late, so I'm hoping this documentary will raise awareness and help men who might be struggling with these issues," he told Mirror. The confession came as a BBC documentary based on his investigation into male fertility is all set to release.
Chris has been dating Jesy since January 2019 and the couple currently lives together. Speaking to Gaz Beadle on MTV’s Geordie OGs, he said he and his girlfriend will be planning for kids within a year-and-a-half of getting married.
In an attempt to raise awareness of testicular cancer and other related issues, Chris bravely lowered his pants and underwent a testicular examination live on ITV's 'This Morning', in 2018.
"I was diagnosed with two separate conditions, I had operations but there was no long-term damage", Chris explained, "I was around 14 and I noticed a build-up of veins and eventually got it looked at [six years later, aged 20] and they referred to hospitals and I ended up having three operations on my left testicle, and that was more down to safety with infertility, because the veins take oxygen. My sperm count was quite low, I have had a hydrocele. I have had four operations on them."
Male infertility runs in his family as his eldest, Ben, was diagnosed with testicular cancer in January and his cousin has also battled it. The documentary, "Me, My Brother and Our Balls" delves into why the sperm count of men in the West has fallen by half in 40 years.
He added that he had his sperm frozen years ago but has since not retested them to see if they work.