"Nearly Parents" — and Nearly Informed: Jamie Laing’s Fertility Wake-Up Call Says a Lot About Our Generation

On a recent episode of Nearly Parents, Jamie Laing—former Made in Chelsea star turned podcast host—shared something that stopped us in our tracks. At 35, he admitted he was shocked to learn there’s only a short window to conceive and that male fertility plays a role too. As Jamie and wife Sophie Habboo navigate their journey to parenthood with refreshing honesty and humour, they’ve also stumbled into a reality that so many millennials are confronting far too late: we don’t really know how fertility works until it becomes a problem.

Their conversation is more than just good podcast content—it’s a mirror to an entire generation waking up to biology with a mix of disbelief and panic. How is it that we've gone so long without understanding the fundamentals of fertility? Why is the reproductive system, something so central to our future planning, still cloaked in half-truths, shame, and outdated warnings?

Let’s be honest: we were raised in a world that focused on how not to get pregnant. From school assemblies armed with banana condoms and fearmongering lessons about teen pregnancy, the priority was prevention. Pregnancy was framed as a looming threat. And for good reason—teen pregnancies carry real risks, and informed contraception is vital. But the consequence of that lopsided messaging is that few of us were taught the other side: how fertility declines, how long conception can take, and that sperm isn’t immune to the ageing process either.

Jamie’s reaction—genuine, surprised, and vulnerable—echoes what many of us feel when we finally start looking into it. And it raises a critical point: with all the apps, podcasts, online health trackers and digital tools, why aren’t we better informed about our reproductive health? If knowledge is power, why are so many thirtysomethings still stumbling into parenthood with such basic gaps?

Let’s look at the data.

According to the UK Office for National Statistics, the average age for first-time mothers is now 30.9 years, and for fathers, it’s even older. Yet, female fertility starts to decline significantly at 35, and male fertility isn’t invincible either—studies show that advancing paternal age is associated with increased risks of miscarriage, preterm birth, low birth weight, and certain developmental disorders in children.

A 2019 study published in Human Reproduction found that men over 40 were significantly more likely to experience difficulties conceiving than those under 30. Sperm quality—motility, count, and DNA integrity—declines with age, and factors like alcohol, stress, and poor sleep don’t help.

In other words: it’s not just a women’s issue. And yet, sex education and public discourse still overwhelmingly focus on female fertility alone.

What Jamie and Sophie are doing with Nearly Parents is valuable: they're showing what open, slightly awkward, but necessary conversations around conception look like. It's the kind of chat you imagine having over a bottle of wine with friends, wondering if you're “too late,” too stressed, too tired, or just clueless. And in making space for these questions, they’re lifting the lid on something much bigger: the shame, uncertainty and silence that still surrounds fertility.

It’s time to change that. Fertility should be something we can all understand before we’re in a “safe place” to start trying for children. That means better education—not just in schools, but in healthcare settings, workplaces, and digital spaces. We need to normalise asking questions early, knowing your options (whether that’s egg or sperm freezing, testing, or lifestyle changes), and involving men in the conversation from the start.

So while Jamie might feel like he’s late to the fertility party, his honesty is helping others arrive a little earlier. And for that, we should be grateful.

Because parenthood isn’t just about getting pregnant. It’s about preparation, awareness, and understanding our bodies.