Hollyoaks star Adam Rickitt has revealed an autoimmune disorder left him infertile.
The actor, 42, is married to Good Morning Britain reporter Katy Fawcett, 36, and admitted he knew his wife was truly his ‘soulmate’ after she reacted well to the news.
Adam suffers with Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS), which can cause decreased fertility.
Candid: Hollyoaks star Adam Rickitt has revealed an autoimmune disorder left him infertile. He suffers with Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS), which can cause decreased fertility
The chronic spine condition is a long-term condition in which the spine and other areas of the body become inflamed.
Speaking to OK! magazine, the star revealed he was diagnosed in 2011, just after meeting Katy, when he was told by a doctor that he had a sperm count of just two, when it is expected to have a count of three million.
Discussing her reaction to the news, Katy recalled: ‘I didn’t really bat an eyelid. I was like, “Oh, that’s a shame, but we’ve got each other.”
‘I know having kids is very important for a lot of people, so it’s almost a good thing it happened to us.’
Cute couple: The actor, 42, is married to Good Morning Britain reporter Katy Fawcett, 36, and admitted he knew his wife was truly his ‘soulmate’ after she reacted well to the news
Adam added: ‘That’s how I knew that Katy was my soul mate.
‘We’re all brainwashed with the idea you have to have kids, but we were so in love that when we found out that I couldn’t, it wasn’t scary at all.
‘It felt natural that it was meant to be just the two of us and our dogs.’
The couple married just before Christmas in 2014, following a two-year engagement.
During an appearance on Loose Women, Adam previously recalled his first meeting with his wife.
He began: ‘I thought maybe I won’t be lucky and never meet the love of my life, that my success would only be in my career.
‘But I went to do an interview and Katy turned up to interview me… and I rang my mum after and said ‘I’ve met the girl I’m going to marry.”
Katy – who was sitting in the audience – then interjected to admit the feelings had been mutual.
She explained: ‘I was supposed to be interviewing him for an hour but I ended up staying for about five.
‘I didn’t think he would be interested, I just thought he was the most wonderful guy.’
Adam also discussed his health struggles, explaining: ‘I’ve had AS since I was 18 years old and its very similar to MS [Multiple sclerosis] as the vertebrae solidify into one bone.’
Admitting the illness could leave him in a wheelchair if he does not force himself to be active, the former Coronation Street star explained that he exercises daily and maintains a very strict diet.
He said: ‘You have to exercise, and I don’t eat starch. It’s like Atkins but 10 times worse!’
‘I let myself eat carbs on Christmas Day, but I haven’t even eaten a pea in four years! It’s just meat and fish.’
Adam’s final scenes in Hollyoaks aired last week, as his character Kyle Kelly took his own life.
It was a storyline close to Adam’s heart, as he has suffered with depression, previously revealing that he felt suicidal for 17 years.
His problems with mental health started age 13 and he battled chronic depression and an eating disorder until the age of 30.
Speaking out: Adam said he was diagnosed with AS at 18 and the illness could leave him in a wheelchair if he does not force himself to be active
He said on Loose Women: ‘It comes in peaks and waves but a great proportion of my adult life I did spend suicidal…
‘I was desperate to go and see someone and wave a magic wand and I would be cured, but that’s not how it works.’
Adam went on to discuss his Hollyoaks storyline, in which Kyle tragically took his own life in the lead up to his wedding to Nancy Osbourne.
He explained: ‘It became an incredibly empowering experience.
‘The sensitivity and heart that the writers put into the story really shone through, and at a time like now, more than ever, I think we need to be highlighting just this sort of issue.
‘To be able to leave telling a story that is so important and so challenging is more than I could ever have asked for, and like me, I hope viewers will find strength in its telling.’
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Important: Adam’s final scenes in Hollyoaks aired last week, as his character Kyle Kelly took his own life. It was a storyline close to Adam’s heart, as he has suffered with depression