Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s wife Jenny tells of pain and isolation during IVF treatment

Australia’s unofficial first lady has shared her heartbreak of trying to unlock the “holy grail” of having children for 14 years during one of her first major public speaking engagements.

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Australia’s unofficial first lady has shared her heartbreak of trying to unlock the “holy grail” of having children for 14 years during one of her first major public speaking engagements.

Jenny Morrison, the wife of Prime Minister Scott Morrison, opened up about her struggle to conceive in front of a 350-strong crowd last night at an event hosted by the Australian Jewish Fertility Network (AJFN) at the Chauvel Cinema in Paddington.

Mrs Morrison was joined by Channel Nine newsreader Peter Overton and Greek-Australian comedian Mary Coustas, who also shared their difficult journeys to parenthood on a panel moderated by The Daily Telegraph’s political editor-at-large Sharri Markson.

Jenny Morrison revealed her pain on a panel sharing personal journeys of infertility in Sydney on Wednesday night. Picture: John Feder

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Now 51, Mrs Morrison endured about 10 rounds of IVF treatment and microsurgery for endometriosis before her two daughters were born naturally as her husband was entering politics.

Her first child, Abbey Rose, was born in 2007 when she was 39-years-old. Her second, Lily, was born two years after that.

Mrs Morrison was emotional as she revealed the experience “framed an awful lot” of her life, saying: “You do feel very isolated”.

“Scott could cope with it far easier because he’s just a really hard worker and he’s obsessive about work – he could throw himself into that, still sad inside, but he could occupy himself far better,” she said.

“But for me, it was the holy grail. Everything for me revolved around wanting to have a baby and when you can’t have that … it’s like a natural thing that everybody else can do but you are unable to.”

Peter Overton and wife Jessica Rowe went through three failed IVF cycles before they had their first child, Allegra, in 2007.

Mr Morrison, who could not attend the event, has previously recognised his wife for her “determination to never give up hope for us to have a child” in his maiden speech to parliament in 2008.

Mrs Morrison also said her “gorgeous” husband would tell her she was “plenty enough” when they were going through the emotionally exhausting process of IVF.

“Scott and I are a very close couple. We grew up together, we rely on each other,” she said.

“I did feel at some points it was way more important to me than it was to him and he was so gorgeous, he said to me, ‘You are plenty enough, we don’t need the children’ but of course he wanted children.”

Mr Overton and wife Jessica Rowe, a former Studio 10 presenter, went through three failed IVF cycles before they had their first child, Allegra, in 2007.

“The phone call was extraordinary – you’re going to be a dad – I’ll never forget that,” he said.

Mary Coustas finally conceived naturally at the age of 49, after 23 failed rounds of IVF.

The couple’s second daughter, Giselle, was conceived naturally two-years later.

Ms Coustsas went through an astonishing 23 rounds of IVF treatment.

She was ready to give up on her dream of becoming a mum at the age of 49 when she fell pregnant with her daughter Jamie, who was born in 2013.

“I remember thinking if I’d been born in a different era, there’d be no chance for me,” she said.

“There’s never been a better time to become a mother than right now – science is on our side.

More than 15,000 IVF babies were born in Australia and New Zealand in 2016-17 - the highest number ever in IVF’s 40-year history, according to a recent UNSW report.

The AJFN offers emotional and financial support to Australian Jewish couples struggling with infertility - 11 couples are currently on the waiting list for assistance.

All proceeds from the event last night will go towards assisting couples who cannot meet IVF costs.

Originally published as Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s wife Jenny tells of pain and isolation during IVF treatment