Adrienne Bailon Reveals All Her IVF Treatments Cost 'Easily Over a Million': 'Not Realistic' (Exclusive)

The actress is mom to son Ever James, whom she shares with husband Israel Houghton

Adrienne Bailon-Houghton is opening up about her in vitro fertilization (IVF) journey.

Speaking with PEOPLE on the pop-up tour for her LA VOÛTE brand on Saturday, April 20, the actress, 40, shared a little bit about her path to motherhood. Bailon-Houghton and husband Israel Houghton welcomed son Ever James, 20 months, via surrogate.

"I only did eight cycles of IVF, but that doesn't include the amount of IUIs I did and every other kind of imaginable treatments that you could imagine for fertility," Bailon-Houghton tells PEOPLE. "So it was a pretty tough six years of trying to have my son."

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Related: Adrienne Bailon Turned Son's Bedroom Into a Playroom Since They Co-Sleep: 'I'm Not Letting Him Go' (Exclusive)

Asked how much she estimated she spent on her fertility treatments, Bailon-Houghton says she thinks it's "easily over a million."

"And that is not realistic for the average person. And I recognize that," Bailon-Houghton continues.

Bailon-Houghton has been open about her struggles with infertility. In 2018, she shared on The Realthat getting pregnant wasn't as easy as she hoped it would be.

"I think so many people are very insensitive to that, in the sense [that] I know you guys are like, 'Is she pregnant?' 'Her face is fuller'— FYI I've always had a really chubby face so that's not what it is."

"I think that as an audience we should be sensitive to the fact that everybody doesn't get pregnant right away," Bailon continued. "I think for myself I thought it would happen so easily for me and it just hasn't happened that way."

"I've had to come to peace with that it'll happen when it's God's timing and I believe in that and I have faith in all of that," she said. "But it can be really discouraging and it can be really frustrating."

When she announced that she'd welcomed her son via surrogate in August 2022, Bailon-Houghton took a moment to reflect on her difficult journey to motherhood.

"Our baby boy is here & we are so in love! If you have followed our love story… you know that our journey to baby has been very challenging - But God is true to His word and His promises. We have quietly prayed while sitting on this most magnificent secret for the last 9 months," she shared.

"He is worth every tear, every disappointment, every delayed prayer, every IVF cycle, every miscarriage. Everything. All we feel is joy and overwhelming love & gratitude," the new mom continued. "Grateful to God, to our angel surrogate and to all of our friends and family who have stood with us for over 5 years on this journey. He's here and we have never been happier to lose sleep! #HappilyEverHoughton 🤍"

You can shop Adrienne’s apparel, handbag and jewelry line at ShopLaVoute.com.

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