Lily Collins and Charlie McDowell have announced the birth of their first child and addressed some negativity surrounding surrogacy.
The 35-year-old star of “Emily in Paris” and the 41-year-old director of Netflix’s “The Discovery” shared this joyful news in a joint Instagram post.
However, McDowell later addressed certain comments regarding their journey to parenthood.
On February 1, the couple shared a photo of their newborn in a basket, accompanied by a blanket embroidered with the name ‘Tove.’
Their caption read, “Welcome to the center of our world Tove Jane McDowell. Words will never express our endless gratitude for our incredible surrogate and everyone who helped us along the way. We love you to the moon and back again…”
Following this, McDowell returned to the comments section to express their appreciation for the supportive messages and to address the negativity surrounding surrogacy and their process to becoming parents.
Surrogacy, as explained by Yale Medicine, is a process where a woman carries and delivers a child for another person or couple. This involves in vitro fertilization (IVF) and requires a legal agreement between the intended parents and the surrogate before medical procedures begin, with the involvement of a fertility center.
In his comment, McDowell conveyed that it is fine not to be fully informed about surrogacy, to not understand why someone might use a surrogate, or to misjudge the motivations of a surrogate.
He concluded by suggesting, “And it’s ok to spend less time spewing hateful words into the world, especially in regards to a beautiful baby girl who has brought a lot of love into people’s lives. That’s all for now because she just pooped and I need to change her diaper.”
The post quickly garnered a wave of support.
One Instagram user commented, “This response is perfect. Congratulations to all of you.”
Another user echoed, “Excellent way to tell them that it is not good to give opinions about other people’s lives! Many congratulations on your beautiful baby, welcome to a chaotically beautiful life! Lots of good vibes and love to you three.”
A third added, “Sorry you’re both getting some horrible comments. People are just so insensitive. Super happy for you both becoming parents! It’s the best. You’ll both be an amazing Mum and Dad.”
Collins also reacted to her partner’s message by commenting with three white heart emojis.