ESPN Nicole Briscoe Overcame 10 Years of Infertility and Countless Miscarriages to Become a Mother-of-2

Nicole Briscoe has gone through the worst experience of becoming a mom. She and her husband tried to conceive for over a year, and the road has been a rollercoaster ride for the couple.

EPSN sportscaster Nicole Briscoe overcame ten years of infertility and countless miscarriages to become a mother of two. For National Infertility Awareness Week in April, she spoke to People about her harrowing journey towards motherhood.

When the 41-year-old and her spouse Ryan Briscoe decided to start trying for a family, she noticed that their efforts were not going “according to plan.”

OVERCOMING HURDLES

She never anticipated the journey that she would have to go through to eventually become a mom, a journey filled with never-ending heartbreaking miscarriages.

Nicole and Ryan, 39, tried for 15 months to conceive independently but could not succeed. “You live in this 24-to-28-day window every month for however many years,” Nicole said of trying to conceive.

She added: "Sometimes it goes by in a flash, and sometimes it's like, 'Time to try again. Time to try again. Time to try again.'"

The SportsCenter anchor explained she had a small window of hope, “and then you have this window where it’s suddenly dashed, and it’s crushing.”

Of her heart-wrenching journey to parenthood, she said, "nothing ever takes away the pain and the disappointment, and the rollercoaster that you experienced getting to that point."

After all the trying, she and her husband turned to fertility treatments – which for the couple, amounted to six intrauterine inseminations (IUIs), and when those did not work, they opted for multiple rounds of in-vitro fertilization (IVF).

WELCOMING KIDS

The pair finally received some good news as their first child, daughter Finely, was born after that first round of IVF, which yielded two embryos, one of which was her.

However, their troubles of infertility were far from over, and Nicole’s emotional scars persisted, as she further explained how the process made her feel:

"Sometimes it feels like it's going to bury you, and sometimes you feel like you're drowning. And then, sometimes, you're numb to it."

Nicole and Ryan’s second child, another daughter, Blake, 5, was born after another round of IVF. However, the process was anything but smooth as they were "so many stops" along the way, including several miscarriages.

Nonetheless, the Wisconsin native had two healthy pregnancies even though she discovered she had severe endometriosis and an abdominal ectopic on top of all that.

BEING A MOM

Being a mom of two now, Nicole and Ryan are presently raising their kids in Farmington, Connecticut, where the pair relocated in 2015. Despite their glamorous careers as sports professionals, they have ensured their family life is more ordinary than anything else.

Nicole works regular shifts at ESPN. So they needed a nanny, but she has breakfast with her children every morning and is around for the rest of the day.

For Ryan, he has to travel all the time for work and would leave for only three to four days at a time, but his schedule is wide open when he’s not on the road. “When I’m home, I’m home all day,” he said back in 2018.

NICOLE & RYAN

Ryan is an American-Australian professional racing driver from Sydney. He and Nicole met in 2005 during his first season as an IndyCar driver.

Nicole covered the race on that day and often covered sport and had previously caught Ryan's eye, who described her as “the hot local TV girl.”

The pair reunited many months after the race, where they bumped into each other at an event. That chance helped rekindle their friendship, and they eventually started dating.

The couple tried the knot in 2009 and are now parents to beautiful girls while working on their thriving careers. They have managed to raise their kids the way they had hoped:

“Together, and with lots of love.”

But it has not been easy for the lovebirds as Nicole admitted that “it’s the hardest thing in the world – raising a family and working hard at your job – but it’s the best thing in the world…too.”

FINDING THE BALANCE

Nicole has had to make some adjustments to accommodate her role in motherhood, including her work schedule as a working mother.

With the birth of her daughter Finely, 7, in December 2013, she and Ryan had to cut back on traveling with work. “That’s the big thing – the travel,” said Nicole in 2014.

She explained that she used to travel for a few events occasionally but would no longer be doing the 34 weekends a year. They toned it down to 22 weekends a year where Ryan would travel for work, and she would also be on the road but still manage to see each other.

Nicole also had to travel with her then first newborn baby girl; Ryan noted it was a relief to travel less, especially for the baby. He added it was hard for his wife to be a new mom and having a full-time job.

THE CAREER

Nicole began her TV career when she was still in college at Illinois University by taking on the role of a general assignment reporter at WREX-TV in 1999.

She also worked as a weekend news and weather anchor and producer. Nicole got the gig after an internship, whereby she learned as much as she could.

In 2001, the host of NASCAR Countdown became a news reporter and filled-in anchor for WANE-TV, the CBS affiliate of Fort Wayne, Indiana.

She then moved to Indianapolis in 2004 to work for WISH-TV, the CBS affiliate in Indy. Sports has always been a passion for Nicole, who, in 2006, began a two-year stint as the co-host of a motorsports news program on the SPEED channel.

That gig led to her being hired by ESPN in 2008, and she worked for the sports giant for six years in various capacities related to NASCAR.

Her journey as an anchor for SportsCenter and studio show host began in early 2015. She frequently co-anchors the 7 am ET edition with Randy Scott.

Nicole has also contributed to X-Games coverage as a host and a reporter and filled in as host on several ESPN Radio programs.

Apart from being a career woman, Nicole is also an avid runner and has competed in multiple running events countrywide.