In a storage facility in Beverly Hills sit two frozen female embryos.

The two microscopic organisms are at the centre of a now three-year legal battle between the couple that created them.

In 2011, Modern Family actress Sofia Vergara began dating New York socialite, Nick Loeb. Loeb, now 43, is the heir to the Loeb and Lehman banking dynasties.

Two years later in 2013, the couple fertilised and froze two embryos together.

Around that time, Vergara’s Hollywood career gained momentum and Loeb’s hot dog topping startup, Onion Crunch, took off.

Then, in 2014, the couple parted ways.

They have been locked in a legal battle ever since.

How did we get here?