Maria Menounos has welcomed her first child via a surrogate (Picture: Getty)
Maria Menounos has welcomed her first child with husband Keven Undergaro.
The TV host, 45 – who recently detailed her devastating cancer battle – confirmed that they had become parents to a baby girl via surrogate on June 23, unveiling her name as Athena Alexandra.
Describing her arrival in a new interview, she explained that it was ‘better than I could’ve ever imagined.’
‘It was the most special moment of my life,’ she told Us Weekly. ‘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.
‘It’s euphoric. For so long, I’ve felt something’s been missing. I’d go to kids’ birthday parties, and I’d be a little sad because I wanted my own family. And now I feel so grounded, like I finally know where I belong.’
The new mom revealed that she had an instant, ‘amazing’ connection with Athena, while TV writer Keven, 55, described her arrival as ‘better than Christmas’.
Speaking to the outlet, Maria explained that it was Kim Kardashian who helped her initially get the ball rolling on the surrogacy process – by connecting her to a lawyer who introduced her to Family Match Consulting.
When asked how supportive the Kardashians star was, she continued: ‘I give her so much credit. She helped us get started and guided me through the fears and the process.
‘She was the first to know we were pregnant! We were at a gala [in November], and I couldn’t resist telling her. She’s such a chill, calm person. Anytime I had questions or needed advice, her responses were instant. I had really leaned on her a lot.’
Maria has been candid about her struggles to conceive naturally, having been through three rounds of IVF with her partner over the years.
Despite the heartache, she raved about the ‘magical experience’ she had with her surrogate, and has plans to add to their brood.
‘I want 50 more. I have one good embryo left. We’ll see, it would have to be fast,’ she added. ‘The joy that Athena has brought to this house — I want more of that. It feels so good. There have been a lot of rough times, but I know all of that is behind us, and all of the good stuff is ahead.’
It has been a bittersweet time for the couple after Maria was diagnosed with stage two pancreatic cancer at the beginning of the year.
She went under the knife in February to remove the tumor and has been focused on her recovery ever since.
Maria has had a tough few years with her health (Picture: FilmMagic)
Appearing on the Not Skinny But Not Fat podcast, she recalled the moment she was informed of her condition, after months of being overlooked.
‘When [the doctor] said there was a large mass on my pancreas, I started to well up,’ she said. ‘I looked at him and was like, “So I’m a goner, right?”
‘I know what pancreas and tumor means. He was like, “I just know you need to go to the hospital right now.”
‘I was guttural crying. I can’t believe God just blessed me with a baby, I’m going to have a baby… We were two months along and I was like, I can’t believe I’m finally going to have a baby and I’m not going to get to meet her.’
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