Isha Sesay opens up about divorce and getting pregnant at 46
Former CNN anchor Isha Sesay said Thursday that she is pregnant and divorced.
It was the first time that the famous British Sierra Leonean television channel made public details of his private life.
In a lengthy pregnancy diary published on NBC's Today show, Ms. Sesay revealed that she was divorced and conceived at age 46.
She also shared snippets on her Instagram page.
See this post on Instagram
A post shared by Isha Sesay (@iamishasesay)
The presenter married Leif Coorlim, award-winning journalist and editor of the CNN Freedom Project, in 2013.
They met in 2008 after working together on a CNN series in Atlanta; they were friends until 2011 when they started dating.
It is however unclear when they divorced as it was never made public.
Early in her story, the Sierra Leonean-born British journalist said she would never have thought of getting a divorce or having a child as a single parent.
She said, "If you had told the 16-year-old that at 46 I would be divorced, single, and having a baby on my own, by choice!" — I would have shivered and firmly say "no!"
"At the time, I had very specific ideas about where my personal life would go in the future, and it didn't look like that. I imagined something much simpler and, dare I say it , conventional”.
Career and marriageThe London-born journalist recalled her professional trajectory, saying she was lucky to have spent decades as a journalist - 13 years on air for CNN International, traveling the world for covering world events and interviewing presidents, movie stars and world leaders.
Isha, whose first job was as a TV announcer on BBC Choice in 1999, said that despite her accomplishments, she never quite realized her deepest desires.
“I published a book, became a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador and started a non-profit to help empower African girls, but in my quiet moments, the only thing I wanted the most, to be a mother, and that remained out of reach. ”
The broadcaster who covered Nigeria
The April 2007 presidential election, during which she interviewed incumbent President Olusegun Obasanjo and newly elected President Umaru Yar'Adua exclusively, said her marriage was short-lived.
>She said, "A brief marriage to a nice man didn't result in any children, then the year I turned 40, my mother had a catastrophic stroke, leaving me no emotional space to consider anything other than taking care of her Six years passed, and a few months ago I found myself in a bad relationship with a man who took about 12 hours to answer all my text messages , among other red flags."
ALSO READ: Google Arts & Culture, Adunni Olorisha Trust, CyArk Digitize Osun Osogbo Sacred GroveShe said her divorce led her to discover herself.
"It was then, the day after our inevitable breakup, that it hit me. Not having children would be the biggest regret of my life."
"And with my biological clock ticking, if I waited for the right person to come before I did, well, I might find myself running out of time," she said.
Have a babyTelling her story, she highlighted the mental battles she fought.
She said this included how she would answer society's questions about her planned single parenthood, the endless meetings with various doctors, the numerous blood tests, pelvic exams, bruising injections, medications causing pain. nausea and unexpected fibroid surgery.
"But perhaps the most difficult of all was the emotional dimension of this journey, particularly around my choice of a sperm donor.
"The decision asked me to confront questions regarding the importance of race, ethnicity, religion and the education of the father of my child. Essential...
Former CNN anchor Isha Sesay said Thursday that she is pregnant and divorced.
It was the first time that the famous British Sierra Leonean television channel made public details of his private life.
In a lengthy pregnancy diary published on NBC's Today show, Ms. Sesay revealed that she was divorced and conceived at age 46.
She also shared snippets on her Instagram page.
See this post on Instagram
A post shared by Isha Sesay (@iamishasesay)
The presenter married Leif Coorlim, award-winning journalist and editor of the CNN Freedom Project, in 2013.
They met in 2008 after working together on a CNN series in Atlanta; they were friends until 2011 when they started dating.
It is however unclear when they divorced as it was never made public.
Early in her story, the Sierra Leonean-born British journalist said she would never have thought of getting a divorce or having a child as a single parent.
She said, "If you had told the 16-year-old that at 46 I would be divorced, single, and having a baby on my own, by choice!" — I would have shivered and firmly say "no!"
"At the time, I had very specific ideas about where my personal life would go in the future, and it didn't look like that. I imagined something much simpler and, dare I say it , conventional”.
Career and marriageThe London-born journalist recalled her professional trajectory, saying she was lucky to have spent decades as a journalist - 13 years on air for CNN International, traveling the world for covering world events and interviewing presidents, movie stars and world leaders.
Isha, whose first job was as a TV announcer on BBC Choice in 1999, said that despite her accomplishments, she never quite realized her deepest desires.
“I published a book, became a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador and started a non-profit to help empower African girls, but in my quiet moments, the only thing I wanted the most, to be a mother, and that remained out of reach. ”
The broadcaster who covered Nigeria
The April 2007 presidential election, during which she interviewed incumbent President Olusegun Obasanjo and newly elected President Umaru Yar'Adua exclusively, said her marriage was short-lived.
>She said, "A brief marriage to a nice man didn't result in any children, then the year I turned 40, my mother had a catastrophic stroke, leaving me no emotional space to consider anything other than taking care of her Six years passed, and a few months ago I found myself in a bad relationship with a man who took about 12 hours to answer all my text messages , among other red flags."
ALSO READ: Google Arts & Culture, Adunni Olorisha Trust, CyArk Digitize Osun Osogbo Sacred GroveShe said her divorce led her to discover herself.
"It was then, the day after our inevitable breakup, that it hit me. Not having children would be the biggest regret of my life."
"And with my biological clock ticking, if I waited for the right person to come before I did, well, I might find myself running out of time," she said.
Have a babyTelling her story, she highlighted the mental battles she fought.
She said this included how she would answer society's questions about her planned single parenthood, the endless meetings with various doctors, the numerous blood tests, pelvic exams, bruising injections, medications causing pain. nausea and unexpected fibroid surgery.
"But perhaps the most difficult of all was the emotional dimension of this journey, particularly around my choice of a sperm donor.
"The decision asked me to confront questions regarding the importance of race, ethnicity, religion and the education of the father of my child. Essential...
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