Maria Menounos details the realities of having a baby via surrogate following complications from brain tumor
- The actress, 46, was advised by her neurosurgeon not to carry her own children
- However, the star dealt with some surprising responses from friends
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Maria Menounos has opened up about the shocking reactions she's faced from loved ones after choosing to welcome her child via surrogate.
The actress and entertainment journalist, 46, was advised by her neurosurgeon not to carry her own children because of complications from a brain tumor removal in 2017.
However, the star dealt with some surprising responses from friends when she first revealed the decision to begin her motherhood journey with the help of a surrogate.
Speaking to Women in the Nude podcast host Sasha Pierterse on Monday, Maria got candid when asked if anybody ever gave her 's**t' for not carrying her child.
The former E! News host explained: 'It's funny because we have some — well, they were friends. One of them worked for me for a while, and this is somebody who was, like, so sweet and I loved.'
The Heal Squad podcast host then claimed the unnamed friend went up to her husband, Keven Undergaro, and asked: 'What do you mean she can't carry? Like, that doesn't make any sense.'
Maria Menounos has opened up about the shocking reactions she's faced from loved ones after choosing to welcome her child via surrogate
The actress and entertainment journalist was famously advised by her neurosurgeon not to carry their own child because of complications from a brain tumor removal in 2017
Keven, 57, tried to explain that Maria's neurosurgeon had advised her not to carry.
Maria continued: '[The friend] was like, "I just don't get it. It just doesn't make any sense."'
The comments caused the former Extra host to react in anger as she recalled: 'And I was like, "Oh, I never want to talk to you again, and I never want to see you again."'
Maria explained: 'It's one thing to be judged by outside people who don't know and don't get it.
'But you actually know me, and you know what we've gone through. For you to even say anything so judgmental is just crazy to me.'
Maria and her husband welcomed their daughter Athena in June 2023.
During their pregnancy announcement in the February of the year, Maria thanked fellow stars Kim Kardashian and Zoe Saldana for their guidance.
'They both gave me their advice and people. Kim especially gave me this wonderful lawyer named Andy, he found me this woman Stephanie, who helped me find our surrogate,' she said on Live with Kelly and Ryan.
The Heal Squad podcast host claimed that an unnamed friend went up to her husband and asked: 'What do you mean she can't carry? Like, that doesn't make any sense'
Maria and her husband, Keven Undergaro, welcomed their daughter Athena in June 2023
She continued: 'We're just so so grateful because these people really help you bring life forward and without them we wouldn't be able to do this.
'Our surrogate and her family are literal angels, I'm so grateful that we're going to have this extended family that our baby will be part of and we're just so grateful to everybody that's helped us along the way.'
However, it was a trying time for Maria as the star was diagnosed with stage-two pancreatic cancer while she was preparing to welcome her child.
Doctors initially dismissed her bloating symptoms, but after she went to a second hospital for a scan she was diagnosed with stage two pancreatic cancer.
Maria eventually underwent had surgery to remove the 1.5-inch tumor and has since been in remission.
Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest types of cancer in America, with only one in ten patients surviving more than a year after their diagnosis.
Maria and Kevin tied the knot back in 2017 and underwent IVF treatments before doctors discovered that Maria had a brain tumor and it was successfully removed.
