Just after Lily Collins announced the birth of their first child via surrogacy, the Netflix star’s husband, Charlie McDowell, came to her defense as she was criticized for their “path to having a baby.”
Videos by Suggest
Netflix star Lily Collins announced the arrival of her and McDowell’s daughter, Tove Jane McDowell, via surrogate on Friday. “Words will never express our endless gratitude for our incredible surrogate,” she wrote in an Instagram post. “And everyone who helped us along the way. We love you to the moon and back again.”
However, not long after she posted the news, critics took to the comment section to share their unnecessary thoughts about surrogacy.
“Having babies shouldn’t be like placing an order on Amazon,” one critic wrote. Another added, “The normalization of this is so scary.”
McDowell quickly addressed the criticism and defended his and Lily Collins’ surrogacy decision.
“Thank you for all the kind messages and love. We are overjoyed and very grateful,” he wrote. “In regards to the unkind messages about surrogacy and our path to having a baby — it’s OK to not be an expert on surrogacy. It’s ok to not know why someone might need a surrogate to have a child. It’s ok to not know the motivations of a surrogate regardless of what you assume.”
McDowell then wrote, “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.”
Lilly Collins and Charlie McDowell have been married since 2021.
Lily Collins Once Said Her Desire to Become a Parent Someday Played a Role In Her Eating Disorder Recovery
During a 2017 interview with Us Weekly, Lily Collin opened up about how her desire to become a parent someday played a role in her eating disorder recovery.
“Everyone has a different form of recovery. I never had an ‘aha’ moment,” she explained. “My reason to finally start talking about [my eating disorder] was the moment I realized I wanted a family. I wanted kids. I didn’t want this to be something I bring into that.”
Collins also admitted that her past struggles felt “consuming” and “overwhelming” at times.
“You get used to being the girl with the eating disorder or someone that has a problem. It starts to define who you are,” she pointed out. “But when you step outside that, and you’re able to disassociate with it, you realize just how much stronger and healthier you are and how titles don’t define you.”