Sofia Franklyn has opened up about the emotional toll of having an abortion, revealing that she struggled to recognise herself physically and mentally in the weeks following the procedure. The podcast host shared the deeply personal experience in an excerpt from her forthcoming memoir, Daddy Issues, admitting that discussing it publicly remains difficult.
In the excerpt, published by Vanity Fair on 22 October, Franklyn revealed that she had an abortion in 2023 after discovering she was pregnant shortly before a family trip to Europe. She said the experience left her grappling with feelings she had not anticipated, adding that she hoped speaking out would help other women feel less alone.
Unprepared for Abortion's Emotional Aftermath
Franklyn recalled taking abortion pills at home and struggling to understand the changes she experienced afterwards. 'I took the pills at home, and weeks later I couldn't recognise myself in the mirror, physically or mentally, and I couldn't figure out why,' she wrote.
In an exclusive excerpt from her memoir, ‘Daddy Issues,’ Sofia Franklyn, for the first time, publicly recounts having an abortion in 2023, three years after her departure from Call Her Daddy, and reflects on her fallout with Alex Cooper https://t.co/CFl9PolSty
— VANITY FAIR (@VanityFair) October 22, 2026
Franklyn said she felt frightened and confused, explaining that the information she received focused on physical warning signs but did not prepare her for the emotional difficulties she later experienced. She recalled turning to Reddit discussions and a friend's suggestion to check her hormone levels as she searched for answers.
Franklyn wrote that she later learned about what she described as a physiological, hormonal and neurological chain reaction. However, the memoir excerpt does not identify a specific diagnosis or establish the cause of the symptoms she experienced.
The UK's National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) says people can experience a range of emotions after an abortion and should be informed about how to access emotional support. Responses vary from person to person, and Franklyn's account does not establish that abortion causes lasting psychological harm.
Sofia Franklyn on Pregnancy, Body Image and Guilt
Franklyn also described feeling physically uncomfortable during a family holiday to Positano, Italy, after the procedure. Despite having been pregnant for approximately five weeks, she said she felt as though she looked six months pregnant, with comments about her appearance adding to her distress.
The experience prompted Franklyn to reflect on her decision and her readiness to become a mother. She recalled feeling guilty when she eventually told her mother, who had been 21 when she became pregnant with Franklyn, while Franklyn was 30 at the time of her own abortion.
'I think about the so-called life I'm protecting by not having a baby – the partying, the numbing, the running,' she wrote. She questioned how she could bring a child into the world when she felt she was not living a life worth keeping herself.
Sofia Franklyn Hopes Her Story Will Help Other Women
The memoir excerpt also places Franklyn's experience within a wider period of personal and professional uncertainty following her split from Alex Cooper, her former co-host on Call Her Daddy. After their professional partnership ended in 2020, Franklyn launched her own podcast, Sofia with an F, while Cooper went on to build her own media brand.
Franklyn described feeling increasingly disconnected from her work and herself during the period covered in the excerpt. However, she did not explicitly establish that the fallout with Cooper caused the emotional difficulties she experienced after her abortion.
For Franklyn, sharing the experience is about more than revisiting a difficult chapter of her life. She said she included it in Daddy Issues because she wanted women to feel less isolated and to understand that others have had abortions, even when they do not speak openly about them.
'I hope putting myself out there will free me from the self-imposed exile and shame,' she wrote.
