Whitney Way Thore's Fertility Journey Changes After She Learns that Her Friend Can't Be Her Surrogate

Alexandra Schonfeld
·3 min read
Whitney Way Thore's Fertility Journey Changes After She Learns that Her Friend Can't Be Her Surrogate

Whitney Way Thore's fertility journey continues on next week's episode of My Big Fat Fabulous Life.

In a clip from the episode shared exclusively with PEOPLE, it is revealed that while Thore's friend Heather Sykes had agreed to be a surrogate, she learned from her doctor that unfortunately, she wasn't a good candidate.

"For Whitney to ask me to be a surrogate for her is a huge honor," Sykes says in the clip, explaining that her doctor's appointment happened while Whitney was in France, where her boyfriend lives.

"For a surrogacy you want the very best case scenario," Sykes explains. "And my body simply isn't."

Whitney Way Thore’s Fertility Journey Continues After Friend Finds Out She Can’t be Surrogate;
Whitney Way Thore’s Fertility Journey Continues After Friend Finds Out She Can’t be Surrogate;

TLC Whitney Way Thore

Thore and Sykes are seen discussing the situation with another friend, Ashley Baynes. Thore says that following the news, she does not think she will seek out an unknown person to be a surrogate, at least not at this point.

RELATED: Maria Menounos Details Her 'Super Costly' and 'Emotionally Taxing' Surrogacy Journey

When asked by Baynes if she still wants kids, Thore said she is not sure.

"I don't know, but now with my boyfriend in the picture I am kind of like…if I do it, I want to do it with him and with him on board, you know what I mean?"

Baynes then asks if Thore's boyfriend, who asked to remain anonymous and hasn't been identified on the TLC show or her Instagram, knows she has frozen her eggs. Thore says he does know — and that he actually encouraged her to do so.

In a side interview, Baynes said that while she understands why her friend chose to freeze her eggs she's not sure "how much she should be waiting on her boyfriend."

"He lives on another continent," she said. "I don't want Whitney to put her hopes on someone else and then have it be too late one day."

Whitney Way Thore’s Fertility Journey Continues After Friend Finds Out She Can’t be Surrogate
Whitney Way Thore’s Fertility Journey Continues After Friend Finds Out She Can’t be Surrogate

TLC Ashley Baynes, Heather Sykes and Whitney Way Thore

This moment comes after a years-long fertility journey that Thore has documented on the show. Last season, Thore visited a fertility doctor who confirmed that she was a good candidate for freezing her eggs for a potential surrogate.

RELATED: Whitney Way Thore Breaks Down Over Her Mother's Health in My Big Fat Fabulous Life Trailer

In 2018, Thore revealed on the show that despite possibly wanting kids she was not sure if she could have them due to her polycystic ovary syndrome, or PCOS. PCOS a hormonal disorder that affects fertility and in 2016 caused her to have a false pregnancy.

"I think I've been avoiding my real feelings about whether I want to have a child or not, and it's hard because I don't have a boyfriend, I can't even get a date, and on top of that, even if I had that, I have fertility problems," she said in a side interview at the time. "So, it's just kind of a hard thing to face when you feel like you're running out of time."

My Big Fat Fabulous Life premieres on Tuesday, August 9, at 10 pm ET/PT on TLC and will be available on discovery+ the same day.