Celebrity Moms
Elizabeth Banks Opens Up About Undergoing 9 Rounds of IVF Before Welcoming Sons Via Gestational Surrogacy
Elizabeth Banks opens up about her fertility journey, including nearly 10 rounds of IVF and gestational surrogacy to welcome her two sons with husband Max Handelman.
Elizabeth Banks is sharing a deeply personal look at her path to becoming a mom — and the resilience it took to get there.
During an episode of the Modern Love podcast on Wednesday, April 15, the Hunger Games actress, 52, recalled the moment she knew something was amiss with her fertility during a conversation with her doctor, who questioned whether she had ever had any pregnancy scares since she had began having sex at 15 years old.
“Women get pregnant when they have sex for 20 years pretty consistently,” she shared. “And so, it was my first of like, yeah, maybe something’s not totally right here.”
Banks revealed she underwent nearly 10 rounds of IVF before welcoming her two sons, Felix, 15, and Magnus, 13, with husband Max Handelman, 52, via gestational surrogacy.
“We undertook nine procedures to have our two sons,” Banks explained on the podcast, noting: “My husband and I had to use gestational surrogacy to have our kids, which basically means we make a baby cake and then we bake it in another woman’s oven.”
Today, Banks calls her sons “miracles,” and fights back against the inevitable mom guilt that comes with being a working mom. “For me, what I’ve come to is letting go of guilt,” she shared. “It’s societal. But you let go of it.”
Ultimately, Banks is grateful to have embarked on the journey alongside Handelman. “I will say this, it was for my husband and I who feel pretty lucky in our relationship that we found each other and that we were able to build this life together,” she added. “It was for sure the hardest thing that we’ve ever had to go through together.”
