Former Bachelorette Kaitlyn Bristowe opens up about decision to freeze her eggs
The former star of "The Bachelorette" is now engaged to Shawn Booth.
— -- Two years after falling in love on season 11 of "The Bachelorette," Kaitlyn Bristowe and her fiance Shawn Booth sat down with "Good Morning America" to discuss their future together and Bristowe's recent decision to freeze her eggs.
"I think a lot of women feel pressure to have kids, especially when you get engaged," Bristowe, 31, told "GMA." "And for me, I'm like, I don't want that pressure on myself."
Bristowe took to social media earlier this month to announce her decision to freeze her eggs, writing on Twitter that she was "taking control."
"This is kind of a backup plan for us and for us to feel comfortable," Bristowe said of the egg freezing process, for which she turned to another former "The Bachelor" star, Whitney Bischoff, for help. "It's kind of like insurance."
Booth posted a photo on Instagram after the procedure of Bristowe asleep in his arms.
"Very proud of her for taking control of our future and continuing to empower others! #ovaeggfreezing," he captioned the photo, in part.
Bristowe said she didn't know "what I would have done" without Booth by her side.
"I think Shawn's role in this was, I mean it was crucial for me," Bristowe said on "GMA."
In deciding to freeze her eggs, Bristowe joins a growing list of celebrities who have made the same choice, including actress Olivia Munn, comedian Whitney Cummings and former "The Real Housewives of Miami" star Joanna Krupa.
The number of women choosing to freeze their eggs has increased from under 500 in 2009 to nearly 4,000 in 2013, according to the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology,
"Freezing eggs is something they can do for themselves right now that will actually open up their reproductive options for the future," Dr. Karine Chung, associate professor at The Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, told ABC News. "So I think it is a very empowering process for women to go through."
Bristowe and Booth have yet to set a wedding date. They said the decision made by Bristowe to freeze her eggs was an investment in their future together, which they hope includes children.
"We always say we want to have probably five, but we'll talk after we have one," Booth joked.
"Yeah, that's what we say every time," Bristowe added.