Glee star Ali Stroker has shared her experience of pregnancy loss and the “grief and confusion” that followed earlier this year.
The Tony Award winning actress, 37, told her story in a Instagram post over the weekend as she marked the end of a “tough” Broadway season.
“I honestly have wanted to hide and not share anything about my life,” Stroker began, alongside a smiling selfie. “But these are the moments that I need to practice what I preach and have the courage to be vulnerable.”
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Stroker, who shares son Jesse Kenneth, two, with her director husband David Perlow, said she suffered a miscarriage in January this year.
A month later, she also lost a job that “meant so much” to her.
“I had thought I knew what the future would hold and in 30 days was brought to my knees with grief and confusion,” she added.
As she continues to process what happened, Stroker said she’s since decided to immerse herself in a positive experience – vowing to take the next 30 days to do a self care project.
“I’m curious as to what will happen and where this next season will take me,” she continued. “Right now, I’m CHOOSING (because damn I definitely don’t want) to put myself out there in a scary time. I don’t know what’s next and I want to say HERE I AM.”
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She finished her post by explaining that the accompanying song, Maggie Rogers‘ Love You for a Long Time, was chosen because it’s one of her son’s favourites.
“It’s so easy to love him for all of who he is and the stages he’s in,” she wrote of the toddler. “I want to do the same for myself. So here we go!”
Stroker played a character named Betty Pillsbury in Glee, landing the part after being a runner-up in season two of the reality competition The Glee Project.
She made history as the first actor in a wheelchair to appear on Broadway in Deaf West’s acclaimed 2015 revival of Spring Awakening.
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Stroker has also appeared in multiple TV shows including Charmed, And Just Like That… and Only Murders in the Building.
Her mission is to improve the lives of others through the arts, disabled or not, captured in her motto: “Turning Your Limitations Into Your Opportunities.”
If you or someone you know is in need of support following pregnancy loss contact SANDS on 1300 072 637 or Lifeline on 13 11 14.
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