Backstreet Boy Kevin Richardson Opens up About Fertility Struggles

08/05/2016 09:02 pm EDT

Although Backstreet Boy Kevin Richardson and his wife, Kristin, have two healthy children now, the boy-band member and actor recently revealed in an interview with Entertainment Tonight that it was a long journey to get there.

"Me and Kristin had our first-born, Mason, with no issues at all, then when we tried for our second it just wasn't happening," Richardson shared.

"We both got checked out and Kristin had some issues," he continued. "We couldn't believe it. It was like, 'Wow. OK, so this is isn't going to be easy. Maybe it's not in the cards for us to have another child.' That was a realization that smacked us in the face."

The couple then turned to alternative methods, including two rounds of IVF. However, they decided that those options weren't for them.

"It just didn't feel right," Richardson explained, "so we were like, 'Let's stop this. Let's reset your body, reduce stress, make you feel happy and healthy, then go back to the roots of how it's supposed to be done. If it's meant to be, it's meant to be, and if not, we'll adopt.'"

After being referred to an acupuncturist, Kristin was able to conceive, and the couple welcomed their second son, Maxwell, now 3. Mason is now 9.

"It was amazing," Richardson shared. "We were jumping for joy. Kristin and I come from big families. She's the youngest of three, I'm the youngest of three, and we had always envisioned ourselves with more than one child."

These struggles echo the theme of Richardson's new movie, If I Could Tell You, which follows a woman's desperate attempts to get pregnant through an online sperm donor. The short film, which stars Richardson and actress Avery Clyde, was directed by Clyde's husband, Robert, and his brother Ben Clyde.

The 35-minute film has been chosen to screen at LA's HollyShorts Film Festival on August 12.

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