Hollyoaks’ Adam Rickitt has opened up on the heartbreaking reason why he and his wife are unable to have children.
The soap star, who is also known for his 90s role as Nick Tilsley in Coronation Street, revealed to OK! Magazine that he and his wife Good Morning Britain reporter Katy Fawcett are unable to have kids as he has been left infertile after suffering from an inflammatory disease.
“I have an autoimmune disorder called Ankylosing Spondylitis and one of the effects is decreased fertility,” Adam told the publication. “This lovely doctor was like, ‘Mr Rickitt, you’re supposed to have a sperm count of three million, you have two.’
"I said, ‘Two million?’ He said, ‘No, you have two!’”
"I didn’t really bat an eyelid. I was like, ‘Oh, that’s a shame, but we’ve got each other’,” added wife Katy. “I know having kids is very important for a lot of people, so it’s almost a good thing it happened to us."
"That’s how I knew that Katy was my soul mate,” said Adam. “We’re all brainwashed with the idea you have to have kids, but we were so in love that when we found out that I couldn’t, it wasn’t scary at all. It felt natural that it was meant to be just the two of us and our dogs."
Adam recently left his role as Kyle Kelly on Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks, after his character took his own life.
“It was difficult to get back into that headspace, but I felt privileged to be trusted with such a storyline,” explained Adam, who has previously suffered with anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts.
“There were mixed emotions,” he said of the storyline. “Pride that the show was doing it, and they trusted me, but also fear as I knew I’d have to get into that headspace again."
Supportive wife Katy also explained that she noticed it was difficult time for her husband, saying, "After shooting one day, he came home and said, “Today was a lot and I feel very vulnerable tonight.”
"Very early on, I sent an email to Bryan [Kirkwood, producer] explaining my past and that I’d like to be involved in telling Kyle’s story,” revealed Adam.
“So I had meetings with him, writers and researchers and I told them my story, which I had never really done before. I hope this will help people. I was lucky enough to come out of it and I feel like if you are, you need to pay that forward."
