After years of health challenges and heartbreak, Lena Dunham is opening up about a hopeful new chapter: starting a family with her husband, musician Luis Felber.
And while her journey to parenthood hasn’t followed a traditional path, Lena’s vision for the future is full of charm, countryside dreams, and plenty of love.
A Difficult Decision That Changed Everything
Back in 2018, Lena made the life-changing decision to have a total hysterectomy to relieve years of excruciating endometriosis pain.
That surgery, which removed her uterus, cervix, and one ovary, closed the door on biological motherhood.
“It wasn’t a gradual transition,” she recently told The Sunday Times.
“There was no slow decline in fertility—it was just gone. Very suddenly.”
Even though she kept quiet publicly about her parenting hopes for a while, she’s now sharing that she and Luis are working on expanding their family “in new ways.”
She didn’t dive into details, saying only, “I want to meet our children safely before talking about them.” But the excitement in her voice was clear.
Farm Life, British Accents, and a Slower Pace
For Lena and Luis, the dream goes beyond parenting—it’s also about lifestyle.
The couple envisions raising their future children somewhere quiet and cozy in the British countryside.
“Our big dream is to have a little farm,” she said with a smile.
“And kids with British accents running off to school in hats and uniforms. It’s just too charming!”
Since relocating from bustling New York to the UK, Lena has built a more peaceful life.
She and Luis, who tied the knot in a small London ceremony in 2021, now split their time between the city and Connecticut, where her two beloved pigs live.
Luis Plays a Big Role in Lena’s Return to TV
While she’s embraced a more private life in recent years, Lena is back in the spotlight with Too Much, her new Netflix series.
Loosely based on her own story, the show follows a quirky New Yorker who moves to London after a breakup and falls for a British indie rocker. Sound familiar?
Luis, who has a musical background himself, didn’t just inspire the storyline—he’s also a key creative force behind the show.
He served as a writer, executive producer, and even composed the music.
He helped shape the character Felix (played by Will Sharpe) to feel authentic and grounded.
A Love That Came at the Right Time
Looking back, Lena says she’s grateful she met Luis in her thirties—not earlier.
“If we’d met in my twenties, he would’ve broken my heart,” she joked.
“We’d have had one amazing afternoon, and then he’d disappear for six months on tour.”
Their relationship blossomed at just the right moment, and now they share a home—and a vision—for their future.
That includes more animals, more painting, more walks through Hampstead, and hopefully, a child or two.
A Long and Painful Journey to Acceptance
Lena has spoken candidly over the years about her battle with endometriosis and the many surgeries and treatments she tried before her hysterectomy.
In a powerful essay for Vogue, she described the heartbreaking medical details and how her uterus was oddly shaped like a heart.
One of her ovaries had fused with nerves in her back, making walking painful.
After her surgery, doctors discovered even more issues that had caused years of agony.
Lena attempted IVF using the one ovary she had left, but none of the retrieved eggs were viable.
In a deeply honest piece for Harper’s Magazine, she wrote: “You can fix a lot in life—get sober, say sorry—but you can’t make the universe give you a baby your body has always said it couldn’t carry.”
Understanding the Impact of a Hysterectomy
A hysterectomy is a major surgical procedure that removes a woman’s uterus—and sometimes other reproductive organs.
It’s most often performed to treat conditions like endometriosis, fibroids, or certain cancers. There are three main types:
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Partial hysterectomy – Removes part of the uterus
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Total hysterectomy – Removes the uterus and cervix
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Radical hysterectomy – Removes the uterus, cervix, and upper vagina
Sometimes ovaries are also removed, triggering early menopause and its symptoms, such as hot flashes and hormonal imbalances.
Hormone therapy is often required to manage these changes.
Looking Ahead with Hope
For Lena Dunham, the path to parenthood hasn’t been easy—but it’s also not over.
With her partner by her side and a heart full of hope, she’s embracing the idea that family comes in many forms.
Whether through adoption, surrogacy, or another route, she’s ready to meet the next chapter with open arms.
And those charming British school uniforms? Well, she’s dreaming of those too.