DWTS Alum Says She’s ‘Grateful to Be Alive’ Following Serious Health Issues

Heavy A DWTS alum is reflecting on her life.

Season 14 “Dancing With the Stars” semifinalist Maria Menounos is extra thankful these days. Just weeks after becoming a first-time mom, Menounos is reflecting on the past few years of her life and took a moment to share some of her thoughts and feelings on Instagram.

“Right now just that list makes me so grateful to be alive and to have thrived. To be here to enjoy this beautiful little girl. Thank you god! Thank you st Nectarios and Panagia. I pray all of it is behind us and only great days ahead,” Menounos captioned a post on August 9, 2023.

Menounos and her husband Keven Undergaro welcomed baby Athena into their lives in June 2023.

“It was the most special moment of my life,” Menounos told Us Weekly of her daughter’s birth. “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 added.

Here’s what you need to know:

Maria Menounos Recalled Thinking She May Not Get to Meet Her Daughter

Just after finding out that her surrogate was pregnant, Menounos received some more news. This time, however, it wasn’t nearly as good.

In an interview with People magazine that was published in May 2023, Menounos revealed that she had undergone treatment for pancreatic cancer.

On the “Not Skinny But Not Fat” podcast, Menounos recalled feeling like she wasn’t going to get to meet her baby.

“I was just f—— gutted. I was just guttural crying and I was like I can’t believe God just blessed me with a baby, I’m gonna have a baby,” she said on the July 4, 2023, episode.

Thankfully, Menounos’ doctors told her that she had a positive prognosis and has gone into remission.

Maria Menounos Is Truly Enjoying Motherhood

“Motherhood is going great. Athena is an Angel. She’s currently asleep on me as we get some morning light. I’m so in love it’s crazy. Thank you to all of you for the love,” Menounos captioned her August 8, 2023, Instagram post.

Even still, Menounos can’t help but think of everything that she and her family has been through.

“I look back at the last 6 years-it’s been kinda crazy. Mom gets a brain tumor, then me, two brain surgeries later, then both my parents are hospitalized with covid, then I lost my mom, then I got diagnosed with type one diabetes, then a Neuro endocrine tumor on my pancreas…some other crazy stuff in between too,” she wrote.

Since welcoming baby Athena into her life, Menounos has found a new sense of purpose — and happiness. She often shares Instagram posts expressing both.

“The littlest feet make the biggest footprints in our hearts! Great quote! My heart is so full!!!” she captioned an Instagram post on July 31, 2023. She has also been very excited to share these memories with her father, Costas Menounos.

“Our first excursion outside of dr appointments! We took Athena to Beverly Hills to submit her passport application and have lunch at Avra! Such a nice day. Her Papou is superglued to her now. It’s the cutest thing ever,” she wrote on July 24, 2023. “Papou” is Greek for grandfather.

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