Race Across the World viewers were left in tears last night as contestants opened up about their health conditions.
The race across Asia is in its final stages and the winner will be crowned in next week’s episode. It was an emotional episode last night as Betty detailed her battle with Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH syndrome).
She told her brother James: “I regularly feel frustrated and depressed. I want to be resilient and brave, but I think my illness has made me think negatively and turned me into someone I don’t really like.”
read more: DWP remuneration updated as WASPI women should receive thousands of pounds
Read next: George bought a £14 ‘lightweight’ jacket from Asda for a ‘warm, rainy day’
Betty was diagnosed with the disease when she was 16 years old. She explained: “You don’t have a uterus, you don’t have a uterus, you only have one kidney. Young women are told to get married and have a family, but when that is taken away from them at an early age, it creates doubts in their minds. As a person… It makes me question the purpose of this.”
Betty was supported by her brother James, who then broke down in tears and asked a photographer for a hug. She said: “It was hard for her to hear. It was the first time she had talked about it and I heard it from Betty herself, but only now did I realize how much it affected her.” I did,” she said.
Betty admitted on her Instagram account before the episode that she was nervous about opening up about her illness. She said: “This may be a bit emotional for me and I’m very nervous about opening up, but the love and support that James and I have received has made me feel a little better. I hope everyone understands me a little better.”
The NHS gives further details about MRKH, saying: “Some girls are born with an underdeveloped uterus or without a uterus, cervix or upper vagina. Their ovaries and external genitalia look like those of most girls and women, and as they grow they develop breasts and pubic hair.”
“This is called Rokitansky syndrome. It is also known as Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome. The cause is unknown, but girls and women with Rokitansky syndrome/MRKH have XX chromosomes.
“The first sign of Rokitansky syndrome is often a girl’s failure to start menstruating. Vaginal sex can also be difficult because the vagina is shorter than most women’s.”
“Not having a uterus means that a woman cannot become pregnant, but it may be possible to remove eggs from the ovaries, fertilize them and implant them in another woman’s uterus (surrogacy).”
To receive our newsletter with the biggest and latest news from TV and showbiz, Sign up here
Enter our £1,000 Aldi voucher giveaway and go wild in the aisles