Maria Menounos is keeping it real when it comes to the ups and downs of new parenthood.
During an exclusive interview with Us Weekly earlier this month, the Christmas at Plumhill Manor star, 46, admitted that she doesn’t see much of her husband, Keven Undergaro, since they welcomed their daughter, Athena Alexandra, via surrogate in June 2023.
“I don’t really see Keven anymore. He’s the night nurse. So, you know what that means,” she joked to Us. “No, I mean, it is true. He’s night nursing. That’s his time with her and I’m sprawled out in bed.”
Menounos said she tends to go to sleep when Athena does, which is “soon after sunset.” That bedtime, however, does complicate her sex life.
“It is what it is. We’re just doing,” she said of herself and Undergaro, 57, whom she’s been with since 1998. “Here’s the thing, it’s different for us because we’ve been together forever. So I hear Keven cheering with her in the other room. I love it. So, for us, it’s a little different. We can hang in.”
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Menounos said it’s definitely harder for new couples with kids to focus on their marriages, but she and Undergaro have had years to solidify their relationship.
“They have kids and now they’re sex life is down the drain. I mean, we know we’ve been together 27 years. There’s ups and downs when it comes to that. It’s on a down cycle right now. No big deal,” she told Us.
Menounos, who married AfterBuzz TV founder Undergaro on New Year’s Eve 2017 in Times Square and then again during a Greek Orthodox ceremony in 2018, knows her marriage will return to a more normal state soon enough. Plus, she and Undergaro couldn’t wait to dive into parenthood after struggling to get pregnant for 10 years.
The former E! News anchor faced infertility issues that led to IVF treatments, which were halted when she was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2017. The tumor was removed and she was given a clean bill of health, but her neurosurgeon advised her against carrying a child. When their first surrogate fell through in 2020, Menounos had all but given up hope — then she joyously announced some happy news in February 2023.
“Athena is our miracle baby,” the “Heal Squad” podcast host told Us after her daughter’s birth. “I’m so grateful for her.”
Menounos expanded on Athena’s impact on her life in Us’ November interview. “It’s been the greatest gift. I think the first thing that I felt after she was born is that I finally knew where I belonged. And that was a really incredible feeling. I didn’t feel like I was chasing after anything anymore. And she’s just magic. And I just love every second of it. She’s just brought so much joy to all of us, and I’m so grateful.”
As for whether or not she sees more kids in her and Undergaro’s future, Menounos told Us, “it would be a dream.”
“We’ve already discussed that we wanted to. The second she was born, I’m like, ‘I want more, I need more,’” she said. “And then we were kind of like, well, let’s wait till she’s old enough so that transition feels good for her. So she doesn’t feel like a loss; she feels like a gain and that she’s got a new role. So that’s kind of what we’re thinking.”
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Menounos’ life has certainly changed since becoming a mother, but she said Undergaro motivates her to still focus on herself, which allows their partnership to thrive.
“We definitely have each other’s backs and he’s such a champion of mine, and he also really allowed me to be free,” she told Us. “I never felt like I couldn’t be me, and so he never restricted friendships, where a lot of guys will get jealous. Keven was like, ‘Go see X, Y, or Z, you miss your friends,’ and it didn’t matter if they were guys. And I’m a very kind of flirty person. He just never was intimidated by any of it.”
She continued: “We’re best friends and he always — for the most part, sometimes he’ll forget, but — when I’m spinning and spiraling, he’ll really be like, ‘Come on honey,’ and he’ll help me. He’ll be really loving in those moments rather than be annoyed by me or shut me off.”
Menounos can currently be seen in Lifetime’s Christmas at Plumhill Manor, which is available on demand through December.
With reporting by Christina Garibaldi
