Farheen Khan and I did a number of shows in the early and mid-90s. I remember when she got married and moved to London. We lost one of the sexier models of the industry.

I used to meet her regularly, but a conversation I had with her has remained with me; it was on my daughter’s second birthday when we happened to be in London. I asked her if she was planning to have babies. That was the last thing on her mind at that time, I recall.
That was 14 years ago. “A recent article in the Sunday Times revealed that 43 per cent of women born in the UK between 1965 and 1978 consider their careers to be more important than having children, and they are all childless. I almost became a casualty of this statistic,” Farheen confessed.
She had always considered modelling to be more of a hobby than a career. And it was important to her to have a serious career. “I joined my then husband in establishing an IT company. Our marriage was the casualty to a successful business. In 2007, we sold the business, successfully, and were divorced,” she said.
Later, Farheen married the good-looking Charlie. “I was 36 years old, and suddenly, the biological clock had started ticking!”
They didn’t find it easy to get pregnant. “I had taken every test under the sun to evaluate my fertility, including invasive procedures. Every test came back with fantastic results, but we still kept trying in vain.”
Farheen was anxious and frustrated (natural contraceptives!). The next stage was intra-uterine insemination, and she even injected herself with follicle stimulating drugs. “I tried everything. I tried acupuncture, hired a nutritionist, started yoga, Pilates, hypotherapy, everything. Both of us gave up alcohol. I was on a mission and was so focused that I didn’t think of any other outcome,” she said. So Farheen took the next step — in vitro fertilisation. Two cycles, still no pregnancy.
She said, “I could not understand why I was failing as a woman. I was in great shape and so was my reproductive system. My confidence started waning and I went from a super confident woman to an insecure one.”
“When everyone around you is getting pregnant or with children, the natural thing would be to become bitter, angry and resentful. But I promised myself that I would not be any of these and that my time would come. I couldn’t accept that I would not be able to conceive,” said Farheen, super-optimistic as always.
I met her last year in March, when she briefly told me that they were still trying. She was weighed down. I suggested she meet a Dr Parikh, and so did some other friends of hers. The appointment was fixed and her problem was finally identified.
“I have an auto-immune disorder. My immune system is hyperactive, resulting in Rheumatoid Arthritis. My high levels of anti-thyroid antibodies and killer cells were responsible for failed implantations,” she told me.
Farheen took this knowledge with her to a clinic, whose founder, a Dr Taranissi, had solved many such problem cases. When she heard the words “Mrs Allsopp, you are pregnant” Farheen went into shock, she recalls with a laugh.
My phone beeped, and I read a text message from Farheen: “Little Raffi was born. He weighed 7lbs and 9 ounces.”
She was overjoyed, “My arthritis flares up sometimes, and I am in pain. But one look at him, and I know that every bit is worth it and more.”
Farheen was positive all the way. “All I can say is that I listened to my instinct and was open about my situation. The positive mind has many powers. Here I am with my son, feeling complete. Oh, and I have 10 embryos frozen for a sibling for Raffi!” she giggled.