Michelle Yeoh Gets Candid About ‘The Biggest Sadness’ of Her Life

Academy Award winner Michelle Yeoh says her inability to bear children has been a sad experience.

The actress expressed profound sadness for her situation, especially since it played a key role in destroying her first marriage. But, the 62-year-old noted that she doesn’t feel like she has missed out on anything when it comes to having children.

Though Michelle Yeoh doesn’t have any children that she bore, she is still a proud godmother of six beautiful kids.

During a sit-down with The Sunday Times, the “Haunting In Venice” actress revealed that she first found out she couldn’t be a mother in 1988 while being married to business tycoon Dickson Poon and trying everything she could to get pregnant.

Reflecting on her past struggles with childbirth, Yeoh noted, “Maybe that is the biggest sadness in my life, that I cannot have kids.”

The actress was devastated when she found out that she would never be a mother, but as it turns out, life had other plans for her.

While Yeoh was unhappy about this aspect of her life, the movie star mentioned that she is living with zero regrets, as she has all she wants, just in a different way.

Furthermore, in the interview, Yeoh recognized that while she may never be able to have kids of her own, she is still as happy as can be because she is a godmother to six amazing children.

She also noted that she has several nieces and nephews, who are essentially her kids, and she loves them all.

Being surrounded by kids all her life has made the actress feel like she did not miss out on anything. She gets to be the cool aunt that her nephews and nieces love.

Also, Yeoh is a grandmother through her current husband, Jean Todt’s child, Nicolas Todt. The “Crazy Rich Asians” actress notably said “I do” last year to her boo, Jean, a French motor sport expert.

The happy couple have been in a relationship since 2004. In July of the same year, they got engaged, and Yeoh moved to Geneva, Switzerland.

However, in 2023, Felipe Massa revealed through an Instagram post that Yeoh and Todt finally married in July 2023.

During the Sunday Times interview, the actress said that she does not live with any regrets, noting that while she did her best to have kids, it just didn’t work out for her.

“I don’t live with regrets because I have always given it my 110 percent,” Yeoh said. “I did everything to make it work, and sometimes even that is not enough, you have to be able.”

Yeoh further mentioned that she moved on from the bad situation she found herself in and made the best of what life had in store for her.

“In life, we say you have to not go around holding your hands like this, you have to learn to let go, and sometimes letting go helps you move forward,” she said.

While speaking on Gwyneth Paltrow’s “The Goop Podcast,” the actress said she was amazed at how some women juggle pregnancy and having a career because she could never.

“I’m not a multitasker,” she noted, adding that she always wants to give what she’s doing her “best shot.”

In 1988, Yeoh tied the knot with her Hong Kong business mogul lover, Poon, who is known for his ownership of Harvey Nichols and Charles Jourdan.

The pair were married for four years before deciding to split. During her interview on “The Goop Podcast,” the actress hinted at her fertility problems being the basis of her failed marriage to Poon.

She spoke briefly, saying her ex-husband, who was a huge entrepreneur, was trying to build an empire that would be carried down through generations by his children.

Sadly, the pair was unable to have any kids. While this may not have been the whole reason for their breakup, it was a factor.

“We did whatever was necessary to have children. Unfortunately, I was physically unable to,” she told the podcast’s host, Paltrow.

The Malaysian-born star is set to star in an upcoming blockbuster musical fantasy titled “Wicked” alongside co-stars like Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Ariana Grande, and many more.

In an interview with People Magazine, Yeoh revealed that she is excited and encouraged about where she is as an actress.

She noted that she was extremely happy about the opportunities she has had in her career and what it means for the future of other Asian actors in the industry.

Yeoh said, “What (is special about) this moment in my career is having so many people who look like me, especially the younger generation, come up to me and say, ‘Finally, I can see myself doing all these kinds of things because you are doing it.'”

“We have to stand up for ourselves and be courageous enough to have a voice. We deserve a voice,” Yeoh continued. “I think at this point in my career, that is what I’m really enjoying: the fact that we are getting more opportunities and the opportunities we deserve.”