Sara Bareilles is opening up about one of the most personal chapters of her life. The Grammy-winning singer-songwriter has shared details of her fertility journey, revealing that she and her husband, actor Joe Tippett, have been trying to have children for two years.
The 46-year-old artist discusses her experience in her new documentary Good Grief, which premiered at the Tribeca Festival on June 4, 2026. The film chronicles the making of her first album in seven years as she navigates various forms of loss and personal change.
In the documentary, Bareilles candidly discusses her fertility struggles with collaborators in the studio, including multiple IVF attempts that have been unsuccessful. She also reveals that considering an egg donor is “the next phase” of her journey.
Sara Bareilles Opens Up About Her Fertility Journey
Bareilles has been remarkably transparent about her fertility experience, which she describes as a “fertility odyssey” during an interview with Variety. She explained that she wanted to speak openly about her struggles because she found little material from others navigating what she calls “the messy middle”.
“I really wrestled because I found so little material out in the world of people talking about their fertility struggles,” Bareilles shared on The Zach Sang Show. “I found a lot of evidence of people talking about how hard it was to get pregnant once they had a healthy baby in their arms, but I didn’t find a lot of people talking from the sort of like messy middle.”
Asked why she thinks people hesitate to discuss fertility challenges, Bareilles said it can be uncomfortable to confront the uncertainty of whether one will become a parent.
“And it’s like a fundamental, a profound question that I am trying to answer for myself in my little life over here. Like, am I going to become a mother? I don’t know the answer,” she admitted. “Who wants to talk about that with everybody? I want to talk about that with everybody because I don’t want to feel alone in it. And I can only imagine if I don’t want to feel alone in it, there’s a lot of people who also don’t want to feel alone.”
Sara Bareilles Says She “Wrestled” With Uncertainty Over Motherhood
During her documentary, Bareilles shares an emotional conversation with a collaborator who was also facing fertility challenges. “I’m in the same boat,” Bareilles says in the film. “We’ve been trying for two years.”
The singer describes the emotional toll of the process and the profound uncertainty that comes with it. She spoke about spending significant time in clinics, getting blood drawn and hormone levels checked, and encountering other women going through similar experiences.
“But the number of women I would encounter on any given day, just like little soldiers, just like coming in before they go to work, or not, or whatever, and just like doing the thing,” Bareilles said. “And doing, it’s like that line, I’m just swimming where they tell me to until I can’t swim no more.”
She added: “There is this total sense of surrender and powerlessness that you just have to make peace with because this is not something that is entirely in my control. And no amount of money that I’m throwing at it, no amount of like it is just not entirely up to me how this looks. And that is so hard.”
What Sara Bareilles Has Shared About IVF
In Good Grief, Bareilles becomes emotional as she reveals she has tried IVF “a few times” without success. The singer then shares that considering an egg donor is “the next phase” of her journey.
“I really had to grieve that… that it won’t be mine,” Bareilles admits in the documentary.
The emotional revelation shows the singer processing the difficult reality that biological parenthood may not be possible for her through traditional means. She also describes the importance of meditation in helping her reframe her understanding of love and family.
“The idea that love is just big enough to hold a lot of shapes and sizes and ways things come. The idea that I could only love a child if it shows up in this one way,” she says in the film.
In her interview with Variety, Bareilles reflected on how the grief she experienced became a “radical teacher” about her life. “I feel like I’ve been through another sort of before-and-after experience,” she told the publication.
Sara Bareilles and Joe Tippett’s Journey
Bareilles and Joe Tippett first met in 2015 while working on the Broadway musical Waitress. She wrote the music and lyrics for the show, while Tippett originated the role of Earl during its out-of-town tryout at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The couple went public with their romance in 2017 and announced their engagement on New Year’s Day 2023. They tied the knot in October 2025, with Bareilles sharing photos on Instagram and writing, “We did a big thing. I will just say I love this man and I love the community who came to hold us up. I am feeling so lucky and so grateful.”
Tippett has been supportive of his wife’s work, calling her new album Good Grief a “gift” in an Instagram post. He is known for his roles in Mare of Easttown, The Morning Show, and American Primeval.
How Motherhood Has Shaped Sara Bareilles’ Perspective
Bareilles has used her fertility journey as an opportunity for personal growth and reflection. The singer spoke about the importance of not feeling alone in her struggles and hopes her openness can help others going through similar experiences.
“The grief was such a radical teacher about my life,” she told Variety. She also said she has experienced “a little bit of a domino effect of this last chunk of time of my life — of just mental health and multiple friends dying, and the fertility odyssey, and the grief of the country.”
The singer said she feels compelled to be honest about her experience because many people are feeling “disregulated and destabilized” in general, adding, “I wouldn’t know how to dress it up any other way. It just feels like this is what it wants to be.”
What Sara Bareilles Has Said About Becoming a Mom
Bareilles has been clear that she does not yet know whether she will become a mother. “I don’t know the answer,” she said of whether she will become a parent.
The singer has confirmed she and Tippett have been trying to have children for two years, that she has undergone multiple IVF attempts that were unsuccessful, and that she is now considering using an egg donor.
She also said she has been doing “a lot of meditating around the size of love” and has come to understand that love can take many forms and does not depend on a child arriving in one specific way.
Her album and documentary, both titled Good Grief, explore these themes of loss, uncertainty, and the many forms love can take.
FAQ
What did Sara Bareilles say about motherhood?
Sara Bareilles revealed in her documentary Good Grief that she and husband Joe Tippett have been trying to have children for two years. She said she has undergone IVF multiple times without success and is now considering using an egg donor. She has also spoken about the uncertainty of whether she will become a mother.
Has Sara Bareilles spoken about IVF?
Yes. In her documentary Good Grief, Bareilles reveals she has tried IVF “a few times” and that it has been unsuccessful. She also shares that considering an egg donor is the “next phase” of her fertility journey.
What did Sara Bareilles say about her fertility struggles?
Bareilles has been open about the emotional difficulty of her fertility journey. She described the process as a “fertility odyssey” and spoke about the “total sense of surrender and powerlessness” she has experienced. She also said she wanted to speak openly to help others feel less alone.
Is Sara Bareilles a mother?
No, Sara Bareilles is not currently a mother. She has shared that she and her husband have been trying to have children for two years and have undergone fertility treatments. She has not confirmed whether she is pregnant or expecting.
Is Sara Bareilles married to Joe Tippett?
Yes. Sara Bareilles and Joe Tippett got married in October 2025. The couple first met in 2015 while working on the Broadway musical Waitress and announced their engagement in January 2023.