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Maria Menounos Welcomes 'Miracle Baby' After Horrifying Health Woes: 'It Was the Most Special Moment of My Life'

maria menounos miracle baby infertility health keven undergaro
Source: MEGA

July 19 2023, Published 11:14 a.m. ET

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Maria Menounos and Keven Undergaro are proud parents of Athena Alexandra!

The former TV host announced the arrival of her newborn daughter in an interview published Wednesday, July 19.

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maria menounos miracle baby infertility health keven undergaro
Source: MEGA
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"It was the most special moment of my life," Menounos — who welcomed her little girl Friday, June 23, via surrogate — expressed.

The 45-year-old had been through a series of health woes, including a battle with pancreatic cancer and years of infertility issues, which made the arrival of her first child all the more special.

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“Athena is our miracle baby. I’m so grateful for her," Menounos gushed to a news publication, as her husband chimed in stating: "It was like Christmas morning times a million."

"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," the Greek-American journalist detailed of the moments after her surrogate's delivery.

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maria menounos miracle baby infertility health keven undergaro
Source: MEGA
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Menounos summarized the entire experience as "surreal."

"We were walking in the halls with [the surrogate], and then they gave her the epidural, and our room was next door, so I went to take a power nap. Then her husband comes in and says, 'It’s time!' I set up my iPad so I could film the birth from an angle that was appropriate, and my phone was with the surrogate’s husband because she put him on picture duty," she explained.

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For Menounos, being a mom is "better than [she] could’ve ever imagined."

"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," she shared.

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maria menounos miracle baby infertility health keven undergaro
Source: @mariamenounos/Instagram
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The arrival of Menounos and Undergaro's newborn came "after a decade of trying," the Fantastic Four star revealed when announcing the surrogate pregnancy back in February.

"I’m pretty sure I did three rounds [of IVF]. I remember calling my doctor and telling her I wanted to drive my car through a brick wall. It was really, really painful, I remember [working at a music festival], and I forgot my needle. And they had to give me a horse needle from the arena. It’s so rough because you’re doing it between interviews, and then you’re trying to do shots on a plane. It was just a lot back then," Menounos concluded in the interview.

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Source: OK!

Us Weekly spoke to Menounos and Undergaro about the arrival of their daughter.

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