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Graham Platner kisses his wife, Amy Gertner, at their home on Nov. 3 in Sullivan. (Robert F. Bukaty/Associated Press)

U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner and his wife, Amy Gertner, announced Monday that the couple experienced a miscarriage.

Platner and Gertner traveled to Norway earlier this year to receive in vitro fertilization treatments.

“Just as the difficulty in accessing fertility treatment is overlooked, so too is the heartbreak of loss,” the couple said in a statement Platner posted on social media Monday night. “We suffered that heartbreak recently, when we experienced a miscarriage.”

The couple said they don’t have words to describe the pain they are feeling.

“While it’s difficult to talk about, we felt it was important to be open, because so many families have experienced the same. One in five known pregnancies end in miscarriage,” they wrote. “To anyone who has experienced a loss like this: you are not alone. We’re with you —just as so many of you have been there for us. We are deeply grateful for the community we’ve found through this struggle.”

The couple, who reside in Sullivan and were married in 2024, said in a video announcement in January that they had been trying to conceive for a year to no avail. Five failed rounds of the intrauterine insemination, the first step on infertility intervention, left them disappointed month after month, Gertner had said.

They decided to seek IVF treatment in Norway due to the cost. In New England, they said one round of treatment can cost up to $25,000 without health insurance, compared to $5,500 in Norway.

In their statement on Monday, Platner and Gertner requested “grace as we grieve, and space to figure out what comes next.”

Platner, an oyster farmer and military veteran, has taken a big lead over Gov. Janet Mills to become the front-runner in the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate seat held by Susan Collins.

Drew is the night reporter for the Portland Press Herald. He previously covered South Portland, Scarborough and Cape Elizabeth for the Sentry, Leader and Southern Forecaster. Though he is from Massachusetts,...

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