Elaine Crowley admits not having kids wasn't a 'conscious decision'

The 44-year-old said that she never intended to go through life without kids, but things just worked out that way for her, especially after she went through health issues with polycystic ovary syndrome.

In an interview with RSVP Magazine, Elaine shared that she probably would have had kids if she'd been in a relationship, but she has no interest in raising a child by herself.

“I never decided not to be a mother, but I decided not to do it on my own,” she explained.

“A friend of mine froze her eggs a few years ago, but I would never have a child on my own.

“So, it wasn’t a conscious decision not to have children, but then when the hormone issues kicked in that ship sailed.

“If I had been in a loving, happy relationship and we both wanted children then yes, I would have had them but that never happened.”

Elaine said that she doesn’t see a point in lamenting what could have been and instead chooses to “focus on the positives.”

“I’m not gnashing my teeth in regret over what hasn’t happened, you’d never get out of bed in the morning if you had regrets like that.”

It comes after the Cork native admitted she was “burnt out and exhausted” after working on her afternoon programme, The Elaine Show, for a decade.

After retiring from the show, she joined Simon Delaney as co-host of Ireland AM from Monday to Friday and is finding the slower pace much more enjoyable.

“I hadn’t realised after a decade of The Elaine Show how burnt out and exhausted I was after keeping all of the balls in the air for so long.

“So, really, by the time it came around to finishing I was done. I wasn’t getting any joy out of it anymore and if you are not getting joy from something you shouldn’t be doing it.”