Exclusive: Ola and James Jordan open up about their two year struggle to start a family

In an exclusive interview and photoshoot, Ola and James Jordan have opened their hearts to Hello! magazine about their struggles to start a family. The former Strictly Come Dancing professionals, who have been married for more than 15 years, have been trying to conceive for two years – with no success. "I would love to be a mum with all my heart and I just thought it would happen naturally," says Ola, 36. "James is also desperate to have babies and I just wish it could have happened by now. That’s the one gift I would love to give him. I guess I just thought, like most women, that I could choose when the time was right for me; that I could have my career and then have a baby when it felt right. But for us it just hasn’t happened like that."

Now, they tell the magazine, they will undergo IVF to fulfil their long-held wish. "The irony is that for 17 years during our career we tried not to have children because dancing is not a career that easily fits in with family life," says James, 40. "When we finally did try, it was a sting to realise we couldn’t conceive straight away. After consultations we’ve realised we are one of the lucky ones and that, with help, hopefully one day we can realise our baby dreams."

Ola and James Jordan have been trying to start a family

James and Ola tell how they decided to reveal their struggles to start a family because they are constantly getting asked when they will have children. "Ideally you want to tell the story in the past tense with a bouncing baby in your arms," Ola says. "But I felt I had to speak now because in every interview we get asked when we are going to have a baby and it gets harder to keep trying to avoid the question and brush it off. It’s got to the point where it’s become upsetting, so we want to tell our story so it’s in the open."

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James adds: "We know when people ask us about it, that it’s coming from a good place, and we understand people want us to have baby Jordans but each time we get asked about it, it cuts like a knife." Their struggles to conceive would have put any marriage under strain, but Ola says: "We are a very close couple and always have been, but going through this has made us stronger than ever."

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Inside Ola and James' home

To read the full interview, pick up the latest copy of HELLO!, out Monday 4 February