Erin Andrews and Husband Jarret Stoll Welcome 1st Baby Via Surrogate After Fertility Struggles

Update, 7/14/23 at 11:36 a.m. ET:

Days after welcoming her son, Erin Andrews opened up about the scary complications her surrogate faced while giving birth.

Recalling the situation during the Friday, July 14, episode of her “Calm Down With Erin and Charissa” podcast, the sportscaster, 45, said there was "a little bit of an emergency in the delivery room." Because the surrogate “dilated really fast,” there were some concerns about the baby's heartbeat as he entered the birth canal.

“I had my head facing the wall because I didn’t want to be in the way,” Andrews explained. “All of a sudden, a nurse grabbed me and said, ‘[The surrogate] wants to hold your hand.’"

Andrews said that she and her husband, Jarret Stoll, then "turned into the biggest sports fans," cheering for the surrogate as she pushed. "Come you, you can do this!" Andrews recalled saying. "You’ve got this, girl!"

In an interview with Today, Andrews noted that the scary moment didn't last for long. “She pushed once and he came out!" Andrews said, adding that she can't stop looking at a photo taken shortly after Mack's arrival. “I’m kissing [the surrogate’s] head, and Jarret is looking like he just won the Stanley Cup again. It’s the perfect picture of surrogacy.”

Original story continues below:

Erin Andrews and her husband, Jarret Stoll, have welcomed their first baby after years of fertility ups and downs.

A rep for the couple confirmed to Today on Monday, July 10, that the newborn — a baby boy — arrived via surrogate.

Earlier this year, Andrews, 45, exclusively opened up to Us Weekly about her journey to becoming a parent. "It's not easy," she said in January. "It's been one of the most challenging things in my life, and I know in my husband's life as well."

At the time, Andrews asserted that she and Stoll, 41, were "doing well" as she reflected on the biggest lesson she's learned from her experience with IVF. "I can take about 50 needles in my stomach and just handle it better than my husband ever could," she teased to Us. "He's always in the other room watching Seinfeld. I'm like, 'Don't worry, I've got this, just stabbing myself for the 50th time.' You know that you’re strong and that you can deal with it and it will get better."

The couple, who have been married since 2017, have relied on their friends and "finding humor" in even the biggest challenges. Andrews went on to explain why she's been so candid about her struggles to conceive over the years, telling Us, "It's just nothing to be embarrassed about, especially when so many people are going through it."

Andrews initially addressed her "time-consuming and emotionally draining" IVF journey in an August 2021 Bulletin essay. "I've been going through these treatments since I was 35 years old. ... Instead of feeling ashamed, we need to give ourselves more love," she wrote at the time. "It freaking sucks, because it can seem like it's such a lonely thing. There are so many of us going through this though, and it's just not talked about."

Later that year, Andrews exclusively told Us that while her "really, really rough" path to motherhood included "so much failure," she wanted to remain a positive example for other couples going through a similar process.

"This stinks. Like, it sucks, but I'm here for you. I get it," she said in November 2021, describing what she would tell fellow hopeful parents. "And I'm struggling just like you too. And you know, you kind of, after a while, start thinking to yourself, 'What's wrong with me, that everybody else has had success?' But not a lot of people do. So that's why I wanted to be open about it."

Andrews and Stoll tied the knot in Montana after more than four years of dating. Stoll popped the question in December 2016 during a trip to Disneyland.