Maria Menounos.
(Photo by Araya Doheny/Getty Images)Maria Menounos She opens up about the time her friends were shamed by her decision to have a baby via surrogate.
“They were friends. One of them worked with me for a while,” Menounos, 46, shared on the Monday, January 13, episode of “Women in the nude“Podcast.
“This is someone who was very nice and I love him,” she explained to the host. Sasha Peters. “And she said to my husband, ‘What does it mean she can’t get pregnant?’ Like, it doesn’t make any sense.
“Her neurosurgeon – the best neurosurgeon in the world – said she couldn't get pregnant,” he says. And she was like, “I don't understand it.” This doesn't make any sense.”
Maria Menounos will never forget what it was like to hold her baby girl for the first time. “It was the most special moment of my life,” the 45-year-old star, who welcomed daughter Athena Alexandra on June 23 via surrogate alongside husband Kevin Undergaro, recalls exclusively in the new issue of Us Weekly. “the (…)
After this exchange, Menounos severed ties with her friend.
“I thought, 'Oh, I never want to talk to you again,'” she recalled. “It's one thing to be judged by outsiders who don't know it and don't understand it. But you actually know me, and you know what we've been through. Just saying anything judgmental is crazy to me.”
Menounos and her husband Kevin Undergaro They welcomed their daughter, Athena Alexandra, via surrogate in June 2023.
the previous and! news The presenter faced infertility issues that led to IVF treatments, which were halted when she was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2017. The tumor was removed and she was given a clean bill of health, but a neurosurgeon advised her against carrying a child.
Before welcoming their first child, Maria Menounos and her husband, Kevin Undergaro, formed an unwavering bond with their surrogate. The couple spoke exclusively about their path to parenthood in the new issue of Us Weekly, detailing the “pure joy” they felt upon the arrival of their daughter, Athena Alexandra, in June. “It was the most special moment of (…)
When Menounos and Undergaro failed to get a first surrogate in 2020, Menounos nearly gave up hope — then happily announced in February 2023 that they had found another surrogate and were expecting a baby.
“Athena is our miracle baby,” the “Heal Squad” podcast host said. we After the birth of her daughter. “I'm grateful to her.”
Menounos expanded on the influence of Athens on her life Interview with we Last November, he said: “It was the greatest gift. I think the first thing I felt after she was born was that I finally knew where I belonged. And that was a really amazing feeling. I didn’t feel like I was chasing anything anymore. And it’s just magic. “Just loving every second of it. It brought so much happiness to all of us, and I'm so grateful for it.”
As for whether or not she sees more children in their future, Menounos said we “It would be a dream.”
“We had already discussed that we wanted that. The second she was born, I was like, 'I want more, I need more,'” she said. “And then we kind of said, 'Okay, let's wait until she's old enough to make that transition a thing.'” Good for her.” So she doesn't feel like a loss; she feels like a gain and that she has a new role. So that's what we're thinking about.”
