Hours after announcing they’d welcomed their first child, Lily Collins and husband Charlie McDowell found themselves defending their choice to use a surrogate. On Friday, Collins posted a photo to Instagram, officially welcoming baby girl Tove Jane McDowell into the world. “Words will never express our endless gratitude for our incredible surrogate and everyone who helped us along the way,” she wrote. “We love you to the moon and back again…”
While the couple received mostly notes of congratulations and well wishes, the post was also flooded by critics who were apparently incensed that the couple had chosen to engage a surrogate. One commenter wrote that surrogacy is an “exploitation of impoverished women” that “shouldn’t be normalized,” while another user argued that having “babies shouldn’t be like placing an order on Amazon.” McDowell quickly hopped into the comment section to dispel any confusion — and vitriol — around the arrival of their daughter.
“Thank you for all the kind messages and love. We are overjoyed and very grateful,” the 41-year-old 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,” he continued. “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.”
While the couple did not clarify why they chose to use a surrogate, paid surrogacy is legal in many states, including California and New York. There are many reasons people might choose to use a surrogate, but in some cases, surrogacy can be medically necessary for those who are unable to carry children due to uterine scarring or conditions such as endometriosis or diabetes.
Collins isn’t the only celebrity who has opened up about her choice to use a surrogate. Kim Kardashian opted to use a surrogate for her two youngest children after experiencing life-threatening complications in previous pregnancies, and Rebel Wilson, who has polycystic ovary syndrome, pursued surrogacy after difficulties with IVF and egg freezing. Like Collins, Wilson thanked her surrogate for allowing her the opportunity to become a mother. “Particularly wanted to thank my gorgeous surrogate who carried her and birthed her with such grace and care,” she wrote after the birth of her daughter in 2022. “Thank you for helping me start my own family, it’s an amazing gift.”