Dancing On Ice professional skater Alex Murphy, 37, breaks down in tears as she shares another hurdle in her heartbreaking fertility journey

Dancing On Ice star Alex Murphy broke down in tears after revealing yet another hurdle in her heartbreaking fertility journey.

The professional skater, 37, and her husband Paul Klein, 38, have embarked on several rounds of IVF but without success, and sadly the couple have had another set-back in their quest to become parents.

Taking to her Instagram this week, Alex posted an emotional video in which she told how their plans for another round of IVF had been delayed after she underwent a uterine wash on the advice of a fertility doctor.

A uterine wash is a medical procedure in which the sterile fluid such as saline is gently flushed into the uterus and then removed, in a bid to improve the uterine lining and treat any infections.

But Alex told that following the procedure, her microbiome had dropped from 98 per cent to 0.43 per cent, which means she'll now have to wait another three months before she can try IVF again.

Updating her fans on the bad news, the skater struggled to contain her emotions as she shared her agony at having to wait again, while chastising herself for not asking more questions.

She said in her video: 'I’m mostly mad at myself for not questioning everything and for not asking a million questions and for not saying, "Oh, well, why do I need that?" Like, I just didn’t know. 

'And I just like went along with it. And I’m so disappointed in myself.

'And I think that that’s like why I’ve been upset for the past few days, because I’m like, I’ve let myself down.

'I should have asked more questions. I should have done more research. It’s my frigging body.

'And I turned around and I let somebody else take control of it. I will never let that happen again, obviously, but it has absolutely put a wrench in our plan.'

Captioning her post, Alex once again expressed her heartache at the setback and admitted that she's so dejected, she feels like she wants to 'give up'.

She penned: 'This is never ending. I’m so frustrated, sad, and disappointed with the care we’ve received, but also with myself for not asking more questions. I feel like you can’t trust anyone in this industry and everyone is just out for money. Genuinely just want to give up at this point.'

Alex was flooded with plenty of support from her followers in the comments, with many reassuring her she wasn't at fault, while others praised her strength amid her difficult journey. 

It comes after earlier this year, Alex opened up on her journey to conceive a child which saw her discover she was allergic to her husband's DNA. 

The former professional ice dancer, who lifted the trophy on the ITV series alongside Joe Swash in 2020 before departing the show, took to This Morning in January to reveal the medical discovery after multiple failed rounds of IVF treatment.

Alex was joined by her husband, YouTube star Paul, on the ITV daytime show to sit down with hosts Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley. 

The couple, who tied the knot in 2023, admitted they discovered they both had a genetic incompatibility that caused Alex's immune system to reject Paul's DNA after visiting a fertility expert following a struggle to conceive. 

Introduced by Cat and Ben, it was explained: 'Alex discovered she was allergic to her husband. When trying to conceive, Alex's body turned on Paul's DNA, attacking the embryos and preventing pregnancy.' 

Alex continued: 'We started trying to conceive about two years ago, and we thought it would happen quite quickly, easily and naturally, as you do. 

'A year went by and nothing had happened so I started having tests and they found nothing wrong, and the same thing with Paul - and we finally decided to do a round of IVF, due to what they call unexplained infertility, and that round of IVF did not work. 

'We were getting ready to go for our second round, and I put the breaks on because I felt, "Something's wrong, my body works, his works, we need to figure out what is actually happening".'

After a round of blood testing, it was discovered that both Alex and Paul have genetic predispositions that make Alex's immune system respond to Paul's DNA like the body would to an allergen or an immune system response to bacteria or viruses.  

It meant that even if an embryo was formed, it was not able to stay in Alex's uterus, as the body would attack it in the same way it would for something it was allergic to. 

'We went on to find out that I have a genetic predisposition which makes me incompatible with Paul's DNA, which is crazy, I have Kir AA and Paul has this gene called HLAC2, and when they come together, they kind of repel,' Alex added.

'My genes put the breaks on and say, "let's attack this", so no matter what we had done at the time, it wouldn't have worked.' 

Opening up on the emotional impact of the discovery, Paul added: 'It's something that we never thought that we would go through, and it's been really difficult. 

'Especially as a man, I feel helpless like there's nothing you can do - it's just really heartbreaking, but we're staying positive, and it's good to speak out about it. 

'I was searching for answers and not many men were speaking about it, you might be too proud or embarrassed as a man to speak about it. It's important, because if it can help another couple.'