Alex Murphy Klein never imagined that just two years into marriage, the hardest obstacle she and her husband, Paul, would face would be biological. But after months of trying to conceive, she learned her body was reacting to Paul’s DNA in a way that made pregnancy extremely difficult.
The couple, who married in 2023, began trying for a baby believing it would happen “quickly and easily,” Alex said on ITV’s This Morning. When a year passed without success, they pursued medical testing — but at first, nothing pointed to a clear cause.
Doctors found no obvious medical issues for either of them, and they were eventually told they were facing unexplained infertility. Determined to keep moving forward, Alex and Paul chose to try IVF. The first round, however, was unsuccessful.
As they prepared to try again, Alex couldn’t shake the feeling that something still wasn’t being addressed. “I just had to put the brakes on,” she told ITV’s This Morning, explaining that it didn’t make sense to continue without understanding why things weren’t working when both of them seemed healthy.
Looking for deeper answers, the couple ordered at-home blood tests from Fertilysis and submitted their samples for analysis. The results suggested a genetic predisposition that made Alex immunologically incompatible with Paul’s DNA.
“It sounds like a crazy headline,” Alex said on This Morning, describing how her immune system essentially responded by “put[ting] the brakes on” and treating his DNA like a threat — “Let’s attack this.” She said that continuing IVF without addressing the underlying issue likely would not have worked.
Paul said the diagnosis brought both relief and a fresh emotional challenge. Having an explanation finally gave them clarity, but the experience left him feeling “helpless” at times, he shared on ITV’s This Morning.
Speaking publicly for the first time, Paul said men need to be more open about fertility struggles. He explained that shame or pride can keep men silent, but sharing their experiences may help other couples feel less isolated.
The couple then began a treatment called LIT therapy, which involves injecting processed samples of the partner’s blood into the patient to help the immune system build tolerance. “It’s like immunotherapy,” Alex said on the show, explaining that the goal is to stop her body from treating Paul’s DNA as something foreign.
Along with the injections, Alex also underwent additional treatments intended to help regulate her immune response. At the time of the interview, she said she had received four shots and was about six months into the process.
Alex said the diagnosis likely spared them from repeating IVF rounds without understanding what was going wrong. She told This Morning that identifying the cause early may have prevented multiple unsuccessful attempts.
Throughout the process, both Alex and Paul stressed the importance of going through infertility as a team. “It’s really important that you face it as a couple,” Paul said, noting how emotionally exhausting the experience can become when one person feels they’re carrying it alone.
While the road has been difficult, the couple said they’re still hopeful about what comes next. By sharing their story, they want to encourage others to ask questions, advocate for themselves, and trust their instincts when something doesn’t feel right.
