Brittany Daniel had some help in her journey to motherhood from a very special someone in her life: her twin sister Cynthia!
As you may know, the twins rose to fame on the hit show Sweet Valley High back in the 1990s. But when the show ended after four seasons, the duo took completely different paths in life. Brittany continued her career in acting, appearing in the film White Chicks and television series The Game, while Cynthia focused on starting a family. She married her husband Yellowstone actor Cole Hauser, and they had three children together: Ryland, Colt, and Steely. Brittany told People in a new interview on Wednesday:
“I always thought I’d be the first to get married and start a family. But I was serious about my career, and I was having a good time.”
However, things soon changed after she became diagnosed with stage four non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2011:
“I remember thinking that I had a new lease on life. I was ready to find a partner and have a child.”
Unfortunately, a fertility specialist told Brittany that her difficult chemotherapy treatments reduced her egg reserve, making it nearly impossible for her to have children on her own. So when the 45-year-old star asked if Cynthia would be willing to donate her eggs, she “didn’t hesitate” to step in and help. Cynthia said of her decision:
“I saw it as such a simple gift I could give to her. I know Brittany would do it in a split second for me. And we’ve always shared everything, so why not this?”
Brittany also expressed:
“Words cannot express how grateful I am to her.”
After marrying her husband Adam Touni in 2017, they tried expanding their family with Cynthia’s donor eggs through in vitro fertilization. It sadly ended being a struggle for the pair, and following three unsuccessful rounds of IVF, she started to lose hope in ever becoming a mother:
“I thought I might have to wrap my head around not being a mom in this lifetime. I fought so hard to get there, and I was so scared it wasn’t going to happen.”
Eventually, the couple turned to a surrogate and still used Cynthia’s egg to bring their daughter Hope into the world. Brittany recalled the day their little one was born in October:
“I just let out this primal cry. The entire room was bawling because they just all knew what we had been through.”
And a couple of months later, Cynthia was finally able to meet her niece after self-quarantining. She shared of the “special” moment:
“I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel at first, what emotions would come up. But I just felt like the aunt. And that is really special.”
Brittany, who has thought about adding another kid to their family using Cynthia’s eggs again in the future, called motherhood “beautiful,” before adding:
“It’s better than I ever thought it could be. My sister made my dreams come true.”
Truly, a beautiful and touching story. Reactions, Perezcious readers? Let us know in the comments (below).
[Image via Michael Boardman/WENN, Brittany Daniel/Instagram]
The post <i>Sweet Valley High</i> Star Brittany Daniel Reveals She Had A Baby Using Her Twin Sister's Egg After Cancer Battle appeared first on Perez Hilton.
