Rebel Wilson says she felt ‘disconnected’ while using a surrogate to carry her child

We first met Australian actress Rebel Wilson in her hilarious role in Bridesmaids, and then watched her twirl her way to comical perfection in “Pitch Perfect.” She also recently became a mother. The 42-year-old mama to Royce Lillian opened up in a recent Today interview about her journey toward motherhood, with its highs and lows.

She had decided that she “really [did] want to become a mother, but at the time I didn’t have a partner,” she said, so she headed to a fertility doctor. “He kind of looks me up and down and said you’d have a much better chance if you were healthier.”

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While that kind of response leaves a bit to be desired, she decided to pursue a year of emotional and physical self-improvement, along with beginning In Vitro Fertilization (IVF).

“I was feeling awesome, but then it didn’t work.” She had previously shared in 2020 that she has Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, or PCOS, and again in 2021 she opened up about her fertility struggles, telling fans who could commiserate “I feel ya.”

In the interview, she describes the magic of holding the baby for the first time after cutting the umbilical cord. But she isn’t all butterflies and rainbows like a diaper commercial — Wilson got real about the challenges of surrogacy.

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“I was still young enough to try a few more times, and then luckily got my gorgeous baby girl. Having a baby via a surrogate is a bit different of an experience because in a way, you feel a little disconnected,” Rebel told Today. She added that motherhood had completely changed her life. “You hold the baby and cut the umbilical cord and literally from — from that moment on, you’re just like — it was just, like, amazing and so emotional.”

She points to an emotionally complicated process that can be uncharted territory for both the mother and the surrogate (surrogates themselves are considered high risk for emotional experiences as well).

Wilson is far from alone in her quest to overcome challenges to have a baby — 10% of American women experience infertility, which means not being able to get pregnant after a year if you are under 35, or 6 months if you are older (and sometimes having miscarriages or other complications once you do).

She’s also part of an increasing trend to turn to surrogates, also called gestational carriers, to carry the baby. There are multiple kinds of surrogacy, such as gestational surrogacy, in which the carrying woman shares no genetic material with the baby, and traditional surrogacy, in which the surrogate’s egg is used to create the embryo she carries.

In an Instagram Post, Wilson thanks her surrogate — “I am forever grateful to everyone who has been involved…this has been years in the making…but particularly wanted to thank my gorgeous surrogate who carried her and birthed her with such grace and care. Thank you for helping me start my own family, it’s an amazing gift. The BEST gift!!”

We applaud Wilson for her persistence to build her family, improve her health, and also for her candor about one of the lesser-known paths to parenthood — and her ability to have a little adult fun along the way too.