31YO Actress Julie Tan Begins Freezing Her Eggs After Ending a Four-Year Relationship

Did you know that starting from 1 July 2023, women in Singapore who are at least 21 years old but below 38 years old (i.e., between 21 to 37 years old) will be legally permitted to freeze their eggs for non-medical reasons?

Yes, before this, it was only legal for medical reasons, and only legally married couples could use their frozen eggs for procreation.

In case you’ve forgotten, former MP Cheng Li Hui was one of the advocates for this new law.

And one actress has just done it.

Julie Tan’s Exciting New Journey to Freeze Her Eggs

Former Mediacorp actress Julie Tan, who is now under Li Nanxing Global, is one of the first to embrace this change. Turning 31 in September, Tan admitted on social media that she had always imagined being married with children by the age of 30.

“I’ve been talking about breaking generational trauma and I was presented with a choice to do so by ending my four-year relationship,” she revealed on Instagram Stories. “Being able to freeze my eggs definitely gives me more freedom and time to choose what’s best for me.”

Tan went on to share her determination to start anew, adding, “At 31, I choose to start all over again. I choose not to settle for anything less than I deserve. I choose myself.”

She shared a video of herself self-administering a hormone injection, a necessary part of the egg-freezing process. Despite her nervous smile and shaky hands, she bravely inserted the needle into her abdomen, sharing that moment of vulnerability with her followers.

“I’m actually shaking, but I’m fine,” she reassured.

Julie Tan, The Familiar Yet Not So Familiar Name

Julie Tan, born in Malaysia and educated in Singapore, is an actress who made her debut in 2008 in the telemovie The Promise and was the first runner-up in The New Paper’s New Face.

Over the years, she starred in various television episodes and dramas, including The Illusionist, No Limits, New Beginnings, A Tale of 2 Cities, and A Song to Remember.

In 2011, she was offered a chance to be part of the K-pop girl group Skarf but turned it down to continue her acting career.

Her breakthrough role came in 2015 when she played the main villain in The Dream Makers II, for which she won her first acting award.

She left MediaCorp as a full-time artiste in 2017.

What is Egg Freezing?

Elective egg freezing has gained prominence in recent years as an effective method for preserving fertility in women. In Singapore, egg freezing for medical reasons is allowed, and from July 2023, elective egg freezing is also allowed for women aged 21 – 37, regardless of marital status.

The process involves several steps, including ovarian stimulation, monitoring and follicle growth, egg retrieval, and cryopreservation.

While some women may experience mild discomfort during the process, it is generally well-tolerated, and any pain during egg retrieval is managed with sedation or anesthesia.

Several factors contribute to a woman’s decision to undergo egg freezing, including career pursuits, medical reasons, and lack of a suitable partner.

But just like any medical procedure, there’s no 100% success rate.

The success rates for egg freezing depend on various factors such as the age of the patient at the time of freezing, the total number of oocytes frozen, and the method of cryopreservation.

On average, one egg retrieval cycle results in the collection of 10 – 15 eggs, of which 90% will survive the freeze-thaw process, 50 – 70% will fertilize successfully with sperm, and 40 – 50% will develop into good quality embryos.

Around 50% of these good quality embryos will result in a pregnancy.

Therefore, it’s not a one-time procedure lah, which is why the headline states that Julie Tan has begun the process, and not completed it.