Maria Menounos is opening up about the hurtful remark a close friend made after she decided to welcome a baby via surrogacy.
The former “Access Hollywood” correspondent, 46, recalled on the “Women in the Nude” podcast that she felt she was being “judged” after the friend spoke to her husband, movie producer Keven Undergaro, about Menounos’ decision, which was made after a 10-year struggle with infertility.
“This is somebody who was so sweet and I, like, loved,” said Menounos. “She said to my husband, ‘What do you mean she can’t carry? That doesn’t make any sense.'”
“And he goes, ‘Her neurosurgeon, the top neurosurgeon in the world, said she can’t carry.’ And she was like, ‘I don’t get it. It just doesn’t make any sense.'”
After hearing of her friend’s comments, Menounos decided to cut ties.
“I was like, ‘Oh, I don’t ever want to talk to you again,'” she said. “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.”
Menounos and Undergaro welcomed daughter Athena through a surrogate in June 2023. Three months later, Menounos shared a photo of the couple posing with their smiling baby girl.
“3 months old today! Kev and I really want to keep her little face off social BUT no one ever saw her smile because she was too little when we shot the magazine cover,” Menounos wrote, referring to a July 2023 feature on the family in Us Weekly.
“Anyway, while she’s still little I figure I get this one post out as she LIGHTS up our day every day and I hope she can light yours up too!” added Menounos. “We love her soooooo much we may explode!!!”
Menounos and Undergaro struggled with infertility for a decade. At the same time, Menounos battled multiple health crises.
The TV journalist underwent surgery to remove a benign brain tumor in 2017. She was later diagnosed with diabetes, and in 2023, she announced that she’d had surgery to remove a tumor related to a pancreatic cancer diagnosis.
Menounos, who lost her mother Litsa to brain cancer in 2021, credits an optimistic attitude with helping her get through her medical challenges.