On Wednesday (August 9), Maria Menounos took to Instagram to share a photo of her holding her 7-week-old daughter, Athena Alexander – who was born on June 23. Athena was wearing a white and yellow sunshine onesie, while Maria wore a grey shirt with ‘Mother’ written in the center in pink lettering.
It’s her first child with husband Kevin Undergaro and she’s loving every bit of being a mother. In the caption, she confirmed ‘motherhood is going great’ and described Athena as an ‘angel’ before thanking her fans for all the love over the past few months (and years, considering all she has been through).
After her brief update on Athena, Maria took some time to ‘look back at the last six years’ and reflect on how ‘crazy’ it has been for her and her family – the good, the bad, and the ugly. To be alive and well enough to enjoy her time with her little girl has Maria feeling grateful and hopeful for better days ahead.
The craziness Maria Menounos was referring to was the multitude of health issues she has experienced over the past six years – which includes a brain tumor and two subsequent brain surgeries in 2017, a type 1 diabetes diagnosis in June 2022, a pancreatic cancer diagnosis in January 2023, and there’s more.
She wasn’t the only one dealing with health issues. In August 2016, Maria’s mother, Litsa Menounos, was diagnosed with stage IV glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) – a malignant and aggressive form of brain cancer. Her mother ended up passing away on May 2, 2021 after a five-year battle with brain cancer.
In her Instagram caption, Maria listed the tragedies in order to give her fans an idea of the turmoil her family has experienced since 2016 – and let’s not forget that she welcomed her baby daughter (via surrogacy) just five months after learning of her pancreatic cancer and four months after having surgery.
“Kev says I maybe roll to well with the punches and I should sit back and acknowledge it all more -maybe at some point I will dig in deeper. Right now just that list makes me so grateful to be alive and to have thrived. To be here to enjoy this beautiful little girl,” she wrote – before praying for ‘great days ahead.’
As you can likely imagine, fans and followers had plenty of questions in the comments section of Maria Menounos’ post on Wednesday (August 9). Luckly for them, Maria spent time replying to some of the comments – including more information about Type 1 diabetes, which a lot of people were curious about.
One fan asked her if there was any correlation between her Type 1 diabetes diagnosis and pancreatic cancer diagnosis – Maria said her doctors don’t think so, but who knows. She also replied to another fan’s comment, which was asking Maria for more details about her personal experience with Type 1 diabetes.
"Gonna do a whole diabetes week coming soon on @healsquad. Trust me you need to listen as I’ve had lots of breakthroughs to share," she wrote in reply. For those who don’t know, Heal Squad is a podcast Maria started in August where she uploads an hour-long conversation every single day about health.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Maria Menounos and Keven Undergaro Expecting First Child Together After 10 Years of Trying
In the podcast, she brings together some of the world’s leading doctors, experts, healers, and thought leaders in the health and wellness community to help others understand the importance between a healthy lifestyle. Since she uploads daily, there’s always new content for fans to listent to and enjoy.
Mamas Uncut is THE online place for moms. We cover the latest about motherhood, parenting, and entertainment as well – all with a mom-focused twist. So if you're looking for parenting advice from real parents, we have plenty of it, all for moms from moms, and also experts. Because, at the end of the day, our mission is focused solely on empowering moms and moms-to-be with the knowledge and answers they’re looking for in one safe space.