“The Boys” Star Karen Fukuhara Said She Had Her Eggs Frozen as ‘Insurance’ for the Future (Exclusive)
The action star said she’s speaking out so women “understand what their choices are” on the podcast, ‘I’ve Never Said This Before with Tommy DiDario’
Araya Doheny/FilmMagic
Karen Fukuhara from 'The Boys' attends San Diego Comic-Con in July.The Boys star Karen Fukuhara publicly shared for the first time that she's had her eggs frozen during an appearance on the podcast I’ve Never Said This Before with Tommy DiDario
She said she "debated" whether or not she wanted to talk about it, but decided "it is really important for people to know about"
Fukuhara said she recently went through a breakup, and "I don’t have a partner. So, I was like, ‘Okay, maybe I should freeze my eggs’ “
The Boys star Karen Fukuhara shared that she had her eggs frozen following a breakup — adding that she’s speaking out now because, “I think it's really important for women to have enough resources and information on the subject.”
In PEOPLE’s exclusive clip from the July 30 episode of Tommy DiDario’s podcast, I’ve Never Said This Before with Tommy DiDario, Fukuhara, 32, said, “I debated about whether or not I wanted to talk about this, but I think it is really important for people to know about: I just went through an egg-freezing process.”
Calling it a way to “ensure life later,” Fukuhara said, “I personally did not realize how it can be an easy process — but it can also be like a longer process for some, and for me, it was longer. I just think it’s super-important for women out there to understand what their choices are.”
“It is time-sensitive,” she said, adding, “If I had known all the things I know now, I think I would have done it a couple years before, so yeah. Freeze your eggs if you can.”
Courtesy of Amazon Studios
Karen Fukuhara as Kimiko on 'The Boys'As the Cleveland Clinic explains, freezing your eggs involves “treatment with hormones to stimulate egg production in your ovaries. Your provider removes the eggs and freezes and stores them.”
“When you’re ready to pursue pregnancy, your fertility team thaws the frozen specimen,” which is then used to “create embryos” that are then implanted “into your uterus or someone else’s who will carry your baby for you.”
According to the Cleveland Clinic, it's recommended that egg preservation occur “by age 35 for women who have no immediate plans of having children.”
And as Fukuhara explained, “It’s good to think about those things because options are available more when you're younger.”
“I didn't really think about it until a few years back and it was like a big thought — I never dated to marry, to be honest. I just feel like when you're in your early twenties, you don't really think about like, ‘Oh, is he marriage material? Is he father material?' I just never thought about it.”
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“I was like, ‘Oh, this is fun. I’m dating someone that I like.’ “
But as she shared, “Recently I went through a breakup, and now I don’t have a partner. So, I was like, ‘Okay, maybe I should freeze my eggs.’ “
“But long story short, without getting too far deep into it ... Look into that if you are a woman.”
Related: Olivia Munn Reveals She Froze Her Eggs to Have Future Babies with John Mulaney
DiDario said that was “really cool" for Fukuhara to share her experience of freezing her eggs, because “there are a lot of women I know as well who debate it… I've had a few people in my life regret that [they didn’t], so I think it's an important message to put out.”
“It just gives you the option, right?” he clarified. “You don't have to decide anything?”
“Yeah, no, and I think that I’m going to have a natural birth,” she confirmed — then added with a laugh, “It’s always good to have insurance as well, just in case there’s no one that pops up that I can have a baby with.”
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