Maria Menounos welcomes baby girl via surrogate: 'Most special moment of my life'

Morgan Hines, USA TODAY
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Maria Menounos and Keven Undergaro are officially parents.

The couple welcomed a baby girl, Menounos' representative Gary Mantoosh confirmed to USA TODAY Thursday.

Their daughter, named Athena Alexandra, was born via surrogate on June 23.

Menounos, who has been open about fertility struggles, told Us Weekly in an interview published Wednesday that holding her daughter for the first time "was the most special moment of my life."

“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," she said.

Undergaro compared the moment to being "like Christmas morning times a million."

"Athena is our miracle baby," Menounos said. "I'm so grateful for her."

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The 45-year-old revealed that she and her husband were expecting a baby in February.

She dropped the news on "Live with Kelly and Ryan" after Kelly Ripa asked about the couple's summer plans.

"We had a lot of plans. We were going to go to Greece in the summer," Menounos said. "We're having to move that up because … we're having a baby!"

She continued: "I had to share it here first because you guys are my family. You guys have been on the journey. And I'm so grateful."

Menounos has been open about the couple's fertility struggles and attempts to grow their family, which they have been trying to do for a "decade," she said on "Live."

Maria Menounos, pictured here in Los Angeles in 2016, is officially a mom.
Maria Menounos, pictured here in Los Angeles in 2016, is officially a mom.

"We've done everything. I mean, literally everything. They've tried to get me pregnant. That didn't work. Kevin had a surgery. That didn't work. He's hung me upside down like a chicken," she joked. "That didn't work."

But with help from Zoe Saldaña and Kim Kardashian, Menounos said she and Undergaro, 55, got in touch with a lawyer and who connected them with a woman who matched them with an "angel" surrogate.

Contributing: Amy Haneline

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Maria Menounos welcomes baby with husband Keven Undergaro