Pixabay A DWTS alum is expecting her first child.
On the Tuesday, February 7, 2023, episode of “Live With Kelly and Ryan,” former “Dancing With the Stars” competitor Maria Menounos revealed that she’s going to be a mom.
Menounos, who appeared on season 14 of DWTS alongside ballroom pro Derek Hough, and her husband Keven Undergaro are expecting their first child via surrogate. Menounos announced the news during her sit down with Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest, saying that she and her husband had to reschedule their upcoming travel plans because they’re expecting.
“We had a lot of plans. We were going to go to Greece in the summer. We’re having to move that up because…” Menounos paused. “We’re having a baby. I had to share it here first,” she said. Ripa gasped with excitement and the live audience began to cheer.
Menounos and Undergaro have been together for more than two decades. They tied the knot in 2017.
Here’s what you need to know:
Maria Menounos Said She Tried ‘Everything’ to Get Pregnant
Over the past decade, Menounos, 44, and her husband tried “everything” from IVF to Undergaro going in for surgery, but nothing had worked.
“They tried to get me pregnant. That didn’t work. Keven had a surgery. That didn’t work. He’s hung me upside down like a chicken. That didn’t work,” she said, laughing.
Back in 2016, Menounos shared a photo of a negative pregnancy test amid her IVF journey. “Wow, I’m shocked. NOT,” she captioned the post, according to the Daily Mail.
Menounos credited actress Zoe Saldana and reality star Kim Kardashian for helping her find a path that would make her a mom.
“Thank you to our incredibly generous surrogate and her family for this blessing! And lastly, I know my mom had a cup of greek coffee with god and said it’s time. 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,” Menounos captioned an Instagram video of the announcement.
Maria Menounos Shared an Update on Her Surrogacy Journey in 2021
On an episode of her “Better Together” YouTube series in July 2021, Menounos got candid about her and Undergaro’s struggle to find a surrogate that was the right fit.
“I thought we’d have the surrogacy thing down. We’d be implanted by now. We’d have all this excitement and that just keeps not working,” she said at the time.
“I thought we’d have something exciting by the holidays, or just after the holidays, but that’s not happening,” an emotional Menounos added.
The Massachusetts native has been very candid about her desire to have a family. She really wanted to give her mother, Litsa Menounos, grandchildren. “They’re definitely showing up next year,” she said on another episode of “Better Together,” according to Us Weekly. “I’m giving them to her. It’s happening.”
Litsa Menounos died in May 2021 following a battle with brain cancer. In December 2021, Menounos shared her outlook on having kids in an interview with Today Parents.
“I lost my mom, we lost our dog and then losing the surrogate was a loss. Trying to have kids in the midst of that would have been a lot. And so we believe that it’s God protecting us. And it’s going to happen at that right time,” she said.
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