Maria Menounos Welcomes First Child Via Surrogate With Husband Keven Undergaro
19.07.2023 - 14:59
/ etcanada.com
Maria Menounos has welcomed her first child!
The TV personality and her husband Keven Undergaro’s baby girl — named Athena — was born on June 23 via surrogate. Her arrival comes after 10 years of fertility struggles and Menounos’ pancreatic cancer battle.
On Wednesday, the former “Today” correspondent told Us Weekly that her daughter’s birth “was the most special moment of my life.
“The doctor literally grabbed her and hiked her onto me. I sat with her on my chest, and Keven and I kept looking at each other like, ‘Oh, my God.’ It was just pure joy,” she continued.
READ MORE: Maria Menounos Gets Married On Live TV On New Year’s Eve
Menounos added that being a mom feels “better than I could’ve ever imagined.
“…Now I feel so grounded, like I finally know where I belong.”
The actress announced that she and her hubby were expecting their first child in February. A few months later, the 45-year-old revealed in May that she battled pancreatic cancer and beat the disease while waiting for her daughter’s arrival. She concealed her diagnosis from her surrogate, whom Kim Kardashian helped connect her to via Family Match Consulting. Menounos shared that the SKIMS founder guided her “through the fears and the process” and “was the first to know we were pregnant!
READ MORE: Maria Menounos Shares Hospital Video Taken Just One Day After Her Brain Surgery
“We were at a gala [in November], and I couldn’t resist telling her,” she told Us Weekly, who also unveiled the first photos of Athena.
Before tying the knot in December 2017, Menounos, who froze her eggs to avoid “problems down the line,” and Undergaro, 55, had embryos made.