- Laura Orrico and her husband Ryan dreamed of having children, but their plans were devastated when Ryan was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumour
- Before treatment, Ryan froze his sperm, allowing the couple to pursue IVF – sadly, he died in 2015
- At 49, Laura gave birth to daughter Aviana Rose
Here Laura Orrico, tells her story in her own words.
The minute I met Ryan, I was smitten. Tall, dark and handsome with gorgeous grey-green eyes, he was part of a friend’s group. We’d all met up to see the second Austin Powers moviewhich had just come out.
Ryan, 23, sat next to me at the cinema and had me laughing the whole night.
He was studying screen-writing and directing, while I was 22 and studying TV writing, producing and acting.
What I didn’t know then was that, when he got home, he woke up his parents and announced, ‘I met the girl I’m going to marry!’ The next day, he asked me out on a date.
‘I met the girl I’m going to marry!’
Ryan took me to my favourite restaurant for dinner, and afterwards we returned to the cinema to watch Austin Powers again because we’d missed so much of it the first time from laughing.
It was June 16, 1999, and when we shared our first kiss, it felt magical.
He’s the one, I thought.
Soon after, Ryan met my whole family at a cousin’s wedding and everyone adored him.
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Inseparable, we moved to Los Angeles to chase our entertainment industry dreams.
Then on Christmas Eve 2002, both our families were at my mum Sandy’s house where Ryan handed me a beautiful wrapped box.
‘Open it,’ he grinned.
Inside was another box… and another… and another.
Finally there was a tiny box containing a sparkling engagement ring.
‘Oh my gosh,’ I gasped.
Ryan dropped to one knee. ‘Will you marry me, Laura?’ he asked.
‘Of course!’ I cried as everyone cheered.
Two years later, in June 2004, we married in a church surrounded by 200 friends and family.
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My dad had died of heart issues when I was nine, so Mum proudly walked me down the aisle. It was the happiest day of my life.
For a while, everything was wonderful. Ryan worked as a graphic designer in TV and film while I built a career as an actor. Excited about the future, we dreamed of having children one day.
But in 2007, everything changed. Ryan had been suffering terrible migraines. Then one day he had a massive seizure.
He was rushed to hospital where an MRI revealed devastating news – Ryan had a brain tumour the size of a golf ball. He was only 30. My world stopped but he was so brave.
‘It is what it is,’ he said, holding me as I cried. ‘We’ll cope with it.’
Ryan had brain surgery and doctors managed to remove about 75 per cent of the tumour. After that came a gruelling year of chemo. Scared, I went with him to every appointment.
Before treatment began, his sperm was frozen in case chemotherapy affected his fertility.
After chemo, Ryan went into clinical remission for nine months and we celebrated with friends.
Sadly, the tumour returned. Over the next eight years it came back nine times. Still, we never gave up on our dream of becoming parents. Using Ryan’s frozen sperm, we tried IVF several times. Each time I fell pregnant… and miscarried.
We lost four babies and every loss broke our hearts.
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Meanwhile Ryan kept fighting his illness with incredible strength.
But by March 2015, we ran out of options.
‘I’m sorry,’ the doctor told us gently. ‘The cancer has spread throughout his brain.’ It was the worst possible news.
Ryan went into hospice care at home and became unresponsive.
‘The cancer has spread throughout his brain.’
‘I love you so much,’ I sobbed, holding him tight.
On April 15, 2015, at 6.50am, my beautiful soulmate passed away surrounded by his parents, Jan and Terry, our closest friends, and me. He was just 39.
I was devastated.
Five hundred people attended Ryan’s funeral. As we played his favourite song, ‘Hooked on a Feeling’, I wept, heartbroken. I was 38 – the same age Mum had been when Dad died.
For a long time, I didn’t think I’d ever move forward. Eventually I began dating again and was in a relationship for five years, but sadly I suffered another miscarriage.
By 48, and single again, I had a PR firm representing actors, directors, musicians and celebrity chefs, but I hadn’t achieved my wish of having a child.
I still had Ryan’s frozen sperm – and the dream we’d once shared. After speaking with his parents, who were incredibly supportive, in 2025 I decided to try IVF again.
I was nervous. The sperm had been frozen for nearly 20 years.
But to everyone’s amazement, the very first attempt worked.
‘This is wonderful,’ Mum sobbed, when I told her.
I was her only child and we’d both endured so much heartbreak.
Ryan’s family were ecstatic too. His mum, Jan, was so excited she came with me to my appointments and scans.
Unlike my previous pregnancies, I didn’t even suffer morning sickness.
Then on February 5, at 6.09pm, when I was 49, my miracle finally arrived.
My daughter, Aviana Rose, was born by caesarean, weighing a healthy 3.2kg. More than 10 years after Ryan’s death, I’d welcomed the baby we’d dreamed of. She even had his gorgeous eyes.
Ryan’s parents were overwhelmed with emotion as they held their precious granddaughter.
‘She looks just like Ryan,’ Jan said through tears.
Today I’m loving being mum to baby Aviana, while caring for my mum, Sandy, 79, who bravely lives with MS and Parkinson’s disease. She adores her only grandchild.
Aviana already has her dad’s cheerful spirit. She coos happily in her cradle and rarely stops smiling.
‘Your daddy would be so proud of you,’ I tell her.
When she’s older, I’ll tell her all about the incredible man who helped bring her into the world.
A piece of Ryan lives on in our beautiful daughter.
