The stunning and talented Tika Sumpter graced the Tamron Hall Show to talk about her miscarriage and IVF journey. Sumpter currently has a daughter named Ella-Loren, whom she had with her husband Nicholas James in 2016. The couple were trying for a second child, and that ended in a miscarriage.
While on the show, Hall asked Sumpter what it was like to share that experience with the world back in 2022.
“Relieving,” the actress said, adding with gestures that in our world we can be so closed off. “I don’t believe in sharing everything because not everybody can hold the things that are precious. But I feel like I’m helping somebody else understand the process.”
The 44-year-old added, “And not only the process, but I’ve also been there with you because I’m not the first one, and I won’t be the last. But we can share in that.”
Hall followed up by asking how much Ella knew about the miscarriage and her IVF journey.
“We were like, mommy and Daddy are trying to get a sibling. And she’s like, okay, can I give you that shot?” the Sonic The Hedgehog 2 actress shared. She also joked that she told Ella to slow down referring to her excitement about giving her the IVF shot.
Sumpter also revealed to Hall for the first time that she had a miscarriage during her IVF journey.
“I did hold the child, and I miscarried,” she said. “But I’m glad that I can share with others the experience, because while it was tough, it was still worth it for me because Ella was there and didn’t know I held the child, but she saw the shots.”
The actress continued, “She saw all those things, and she keeps asking for a sibling. But I think IVF gives so much hope to so many people. And what I did wish I’ve known before that is more about my health, like, what was missing before that.”
The mom also added that she may try IVF again, which is a pivot from her 2024 statements on the topic. According to an interview Sumpter did with PEOPLE in 2024, she only tried IVF once and didn’t want to give it another go.
“I did want a second child and tried IVF once,” she said in 2024. “I know they say you should do it multiple times, but I didn’t have the energy for it. While having another baby didn’t work out for me, I pray that it works out for other people.”
The Haves and the Have Nots star opened up about another loss she had during a 2022 interview with SELF. The miscarriage happened in 2021 while Sumpter was on location for a role in Vancouver, Canada.
“We’d started trying, but it wasn’t happening as quickly as we thought it would,” Sumpter told SELF. “I went to the bathroom and it was like something out of a horror movie. There were globs of stuff coming out of me, like sheets of it. I remember being bowled over in pain by myself. I was literally on the floor like, ‘God, please take this pain away.’”
Sumpter said the miscarriage was all the more painful because she was far away from her loved ones.
“I was like, ‘Holy shit, this thing is happening and I have no one,’” she said. “There was no one to hug me and tell me it’s going to be okay.”
Tika and her husband Nicholas got married in May 2022 wedding in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico and seem to be doing just fine as a family of three.
