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.

From the moment we landed, it was incredible. The sun shone, the people couldn’t have been friendlier, our room looked out onto the beach.