Actress Joanna Page has revealed she made an “impulsive” decision to get her fallopian tubes cut because she’s “too old” to have a fifth child.
Gavin and Stacey, 46, underwent the procedure after giving birth to her fourth child at the age of 44.
She also revealed that she has spent 10 years separated from her husband, former Emmerdale actor James Thornton, with the couple instead occupying bedrooms with their children Eva, 10, Kit, seven, Noah, six and Boe, 16 months.
Speak against Woman & Home she said she would “love a fifth baby,” but doesn’t feel it would be fair to her current brood.
“When I had my third, my obstetrician asked me about birth control plans and I said, ‘I’m having a baby, I probably won’t have sex forever,'” she told the publication.
Honest: Actress Joanna Page has revealed she made an ‘impulsive’ decision to get her fallopian tubes cut because she’s ‘too old’ to have a fifth child
Opening: Joanna said she ‘would love a fifth baby’ but thinks it wouldn’t be fair to her current brood
Partner: The Gavin and Stacey star also revealed that she and husband James Thornton, 47, have been sleeping in separate bedrooms for a decade because they sleep with their children
She continued, “After Boe, the same midwife asked again and I’m kind of impulsive, so I said, ‘Okay, you can cut my fallopian tubes.’ Then, last month, as soon as I got my first period, I thought, “What a shame! I want another baby. I want another little one.”
In tubal ligation, the fallopian tubes are cut, tied, or blocked to permanently prevent pregnancy.
The Welsh actress, who said her husband was not a fan of her suggesting that the surgery be reversed, added: “Deep down I know that’s what it should be. I’m too old now and it’s not fair to the others, but it’s the finality.’
Miss Page and Thornton, 47, who met on the set of the 1999 TV drama David Copperfield before they tied the knot in 2003, have been sleeping in separate bedrooms for a decade.
“Intimacy is important, but James and I don’t have time together,” she said. ‘We’ve been sleeping with the kids for 10 years. Noah is the only one who now sleeps in his own bed.
“Eva and Kit are with James, and I’ve been in the guest room with Boe for the past year.”
She continued, “James has been so understanding. He said, “It’s absolutely fine. This is a moment we’re going through where it’s all about the kids.”
Miss Page, who said she’d love to be a yoga teacher or sex therapist, will return to acting after a decade, starring in Russell T Davies’ forthcoming Men Up, about the early Viagra trials.
Love: Joanna and husband James (pictured in 2010) have been married since 2003 and met on the set of David Copperfield in 1999
Fourth child: Joanna and James welcomed their fourth child Boe to their brood in 2021 – their last baby
Maternal duties: The actress “refused all work to be with the babies for six to eight years” because it “just felt like the right thing.” She added: ‘I just don’t think you can have it all’
Making a comeback: But reading a book during a routine eye test rekindled her passion for performing
Read all about it: The June issue of Woman&Home is on sale on Thursday
She “refused all work to be with the babies for six to eight years” because it “completely felt like the right thing.” She added, “I just don’t think you can have it all.”
But reading from a book during a routine eye test rekindled her passion for performing.
“I had thought, ‘I don’t want to do acting, I don’t want to be taken away from the family,’ but when the optician asked me to read the beginning of a chapter of a book, I went for one,” she said. .
“I found myself thinking, ‘It was a dark night, he looked through the window and he saw her'”. I didn’t have to put much effort into it, but I really enjoyed it. I thought, ‘Jesus, I think I should do some acting.’
The June issue of Woman&Home is on sale on Thursday.
Passion: “When the optician asked me to read the beginning of a chapter of a book, I went for it,” she said