The holiday that CHANGED MY LIFE

These three women went on the trip of a lifetime - in more ways than one!

- KATE GRAHAM AND SARAH WHITELEY

'I JOKED THAT WE CAME BACK HOME WITH MORE THAN A SUN TAN'

Hayley Jones, 36, lives in Plymouth with Adam, 35, her partner, and their daughter, one.

Walking along the golden sands, feeling the warm sea between my toes, I held my partner Adam’s hand and gave a big sigh of contentment. It was July 2021 and, for a month, we’d left our life in the UK behind. This was the ultimate summer holiday, but we’d come to Barbados for more than a beach break. We’d flown the eight and a half hours to the tropical island to try for a baby.

Trying for a baby

Adam and I had met online in December 2019 and our relationship had gone into fast-forward mode when the pandemic hit. Rather than spending lockdown alone, Adam had moved in with me.

He was so easy-going to live with and very caring, and soon we decided to try for children. The only thing was, I already knew I had problems with my fertility.

That was when a friend suggested a clinic in Barbados – the Barbados Fertility Centre – where we could undergo IVF. I’d never thought about IVF abroad before but the success rates there were incredible – and surely being on holiday, relaxing, would only improve our chances. If it didn’t work, we’d still have the holiday of a lifetime.

It cost £18,000 for the holiday, as well as the IVF treatment, but Adam had just sold his house to move in with me permanently, so we used the equity from that.