Maria Menounos Discusses How Her Friend Shamed Her Decision on Sufficiency

Maria Menounos opens up about the time friends shamed her decision to have a child through a surrogate.

“They were friends. One of them worked for me for a while,” Menounos, 46, shared on the Monday, January 13 episode of the “Women in the Nude” podcast.

“Here was someone who was, like, so sweet and I, like, loved him,” she explained to the host Sasha Pieterse. “She said to my husband, ‘What do you mean she can’t carry it? Like, that doesn’t make any sense.'”

“And he goes, ‘Her neurosurgeon — the best neurosurgeon in the world — said she can’t carry.’ And she was like, ‘I don’t get it. It doesn’t make any sense.”

Related: Maria Menounos Welcomes Daughter Athena’s ‘Miracle Baby’: 1st Photos

Maria Menounos will never forget what it was like to hold her baby girl for the first time. “This was the most special moment of my life,” the 45-year-old star, who welcomed her daughter Athena Alexandra on June 23 by surrogate alongside her husband, Keven Undergaro, recalls exclusively in the new issue of Us Weekly . “The (…)

Following that exchange, Menounos cut ties with his friend.

“I was like, ‘Oh, I never want to talk to you again,'” she recalled. “It’s one thing to be judged by people from the outside who don’t know and don’t get it. But you really know me, and you know what we’ve been through. For you to even say anything so critical is crazy to me.”

Menounos and husband Kevin Undergaro welcome their daughter, Athena Alexandra, with the help of a surrogate in June 2023.

The first A! News anchor has faced infertility issues that led to IVF treatments, which were halted when she was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2017. The tumor was removed and she was given a clean bill of health, but her neurosurgeon advised her against carrying a child.

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Before welcoming their first baby, Maria Menounos and her husband, Keven Undergaro, formed an unshakable bond with their surrogate. The couple opened up about their path to parenthood in the new issue of Us Weekly, detailing the “pure joy” they felt after their daughter Athena Alexandra arrived in June. “This was the most special moment of (…)

When Menounos and Undergaro’s first surrogate fell through in 2020, Menounos almost gave up hope – then happily announced in February 2023 that they had found a replacement and were expecting a baby.

“Athena is our miracle baby,” says the host of the “Heal Squad” podcast. Us after the birth of her daughter. “I’m so grateful for her.”

Menounos elaborated on Athena’s impact on her life in interview with Us last November, saying, “It’s been the greatest gift. I think the first thing I felt after she was born was that I finally knew where I belonged. And that was a really amazing feeling. I didn’t feel like I was chasing after anything anymore. And it’s just magic. And I just love every second of it. She has just brought so much joy to all of us, and I am so grateful.”

As for whether she sees more children in their future, Menounos said Us that “it would be a dream.”

“We have already discussed that we want to. The second she was born, I’m like, ‘I want more, I need more,’” she said. “And then we were kind of like, ‘Well, let’s wait’ until she’s old enough that the transition feels good to her.’ So it doesn’t feel like a loss; she feels like an advantage and that she has a new role. So that’s kind of what we’re thinking.”