A single mother who had IVF to have her baby daughter at 50 says it was “the right time”.

Kelly Clarke claims she was met with a “huge amount of resistance” from family when she flew to Athens for IVF treatment. 

She says they were concerned at the thought of her being an older mother and using a sperm donor to welcome a child which she planned to raise on her own.

But the former terminal manager for Gatwick Airport knew that being a mum was what she wanted.

She welcomed Lyla Rae Clarke into the world on March 2021.

The first-time mum, from Crawley, said Lyla Rae was “the perfect baby - and she couldn’t ask for anything more”.

Kelly, now 52, said she did not realise how “deeply in love” she would be with Lyla Rae.

The Argus:

“My life is good right now to be a mummy,” she said. “Right now, I’m the best mummy I can be to Lyla.

"It's been the best experience of my life - she's so funny, so incredible and I didn't realise how deeply in love with her I'd be.

“I’d been met with a huge amount of resistance from family for deciding to become a single mum at 50.

“They were worried about me and the implications of using a donor – but in that moment I knew I’d made the right decision.

"Now that Lyla's here they are incredibly supportive and couldn't be a better family to her. I don't know what I'd do without them."

Before being made redundant during the pandemic, Kelly worked as a flight attendant for 23 years before working in high-profile roles at Gatwick Airport - where she met a whole host of celebrities, including Tom Jones, Kate Moss and Princess Diana.

She has now retrained to become a swimming teacher.

The Argus:

Despite always wanting a family, Kelly says having Lyla Rae in her later years was “the right time” due to her previous life in the sky.

She said: "Now I don't feel the need to be travelling and partying, I just feel the need to watch every minute of Lyla Rae growing up.

"I can focus solely on her as I am content with what I’ve done. I don’t have to rush her youth to be able to carry on with mine.

"Everyone is different, that’s just how I feel about the way round I’ve started my family.

"No one’s right or wrong this is just how my journey to motherhood came about and was right for me."

The Argus: Kelly when she was pregnant Kelly when she was pregnant (Image: SWNS)

Kelly said she is “glad” that she is not co-parenting as it allows her to bring up Lyla Rae - who is now 18 months old - in her own way.

"When she's old enough to understand the situation, I’ll explain it to her,” she said.

“I’ll be honest, upfront and she’ll know that everything’s in place.

"It has hit me that in 20 years' time when she’s 22, I’ll be 72.

"Those kind of things about life insurance and a will are now in my mind which they weren’t before.

"But I haven't got too much left to pay on my mortgage and once that's in place that's hers.

"One thing’s for sure, Lyla is going to know she is loved and how much I wanted her – she'll know the lengths I went to bring her into my world.”