Maria Menounos Welcomes First Baby via Surrogate
Maria Menounos and her new family of three are better together.
The TV host and husband Keven Undergaro shared that they welcomed their first child together, a baby girl named Athena Alexandra, via surrogate on June 23.
"It was the most special moment of my life," Maria told Us Weekly July 19. "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."
Their sweet news comes five months after the couple—who tied the knot in 2017—announced they were expecting their first child together via surrogate.
"We are so grateful to everyone who helped make this beautiful blessing happen," the Better Together author told E! News in a Feb. 7 statement. "I am so excited to be a mom and Keven is so excited to be a dad! And my dad is over the moon to be a papou."
At the time, Maria also gave a nod to her late mom, Litsa Menounos, who passed away in May 2021 after a battle with brain cancer.
photos2023 Celebrity Babies
"I know my mom had a cup of greek coffee with god and said it's time," she captioned an Instagram post, in part, alongside a clip of her sharing her baby news. "So grateful for the blessing in our lives. Cant believe I'm sharing this news without her in the physical , but I know she made it happen on the other side and is going to be with me every step of the way. Thank you all for your love! We are just so grateful!"
Back in April the couple shared the sex of their baby, with Maria noting on her Heal Squad x Maria Menounos podcast, "We're very excited to announce we have a baby girl coming."
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She also revealed that she and Keven, 55, have their baby's name chosen—but added that they're keeping it under wraps for now.
"We've been thinking about names for years, because as you may or may not know, this has been almost a 10-year journey for us," Maria explained. "We've thought about names forever, and I think we've come up with the perfect name for this baby."
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However, over the past almost-decade it hasn't been an easy journey, as Maria has been vocal about various health scares along the way. This includes a private battle with Stage 2 pancreatic cancer earlier this year, which required undergoing surgery to remove a 3.9-inch tumor along with part of her pancreas, her spleen, a large fibroid and 17 lymph nodes.
"This whole year has been trauma, stress, crisis," she told People May 3. "I had that moment where I thought I was a goner—but I'm okay because I caught this early enough."
The former E! News correspondent, who previously had a benign brain tumor removed in 2017, pointed out the painful timing of her diagnosis.
"I'm like 'How in the freaking world can I have a brain tumor and pancreatic cancer?'" Maria said. "All I could think was that I have a baby coming."
But throughout it all, she's had her husband and dad Constantinos to lean on.
"I'm so grateful and so lucky," Maria expressed. "God granted me a miracle. I'm going to appreciate having her in my life so much more than I would have before this journey."
