Gabrielle Union is on the cover of Glamour Magazine’s May Issue.

She opens up about her struggles with infertility and why she’s encouraging people to speak up and raising her daughter in the public eye.

See excerpts of the cover story by Ramou Sarr:

Opening up about how difficult it was for her to find information about infertility

“So much of the Instagram life is creating these perfect illusions, right? People have kids—even through surrogacy or IVF or whatever—and the kids just appear. Rarely do we hear how. What was the journey? Without understanding what got to baby, it feels like easy and overnight. And that’s not the case.”

She continues, “Nobody was really open when I had questions,” she says. “The process was like an ‘underground railroad of fertility’. The only reason I heard about certain doctors or treatments or new technologies or new procedures—whether that be diet or Eastern philosophy—was through a whisper network, and mainly from women who did not look like me or who had a very different journey through life than I did.”

Why she’s open to talking about her fertility struggle

Union hopes that sharing her experience will help remove any shame or isolation for others. “I would never say that I’m giving anyone permission, but sometimes it takes somebody doing something to be like, ‘Oh sure, I can talk about this. It has no bearing on my value, my worth, the validity of my motherhood journey,’” she says. “So I try to be as open as possible. I’m telling people the water’s warm. Dive on in.”

On Raising Her Daughter Kaavia

Union has (also) learned that being a mother in the public eye can serve as a test or a relief, depending on the day. “Part of the journey is being OK with how others—specifically moms—are viewing you, judging you, praising you,” she says. And it’s that one negative voice, even among “the chorus of positivity,” that she’ll latch onto and hold with her for the whole day. “You feel raw and exposed and vulnerable.”

Read more on the cover story on Glamour.