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Wait, when was Lily Collins pregnant?
Emily In Paris star Lily Collins and director Charlie McDowell are a successful entertainment industry couple.
Now, this pair of married nepo babies has welcomed a baby of their own.
Congratulations!
Lily Collins and Charlie McDowell are parents!
On Friday, January 31, actor Lily Collins and director Charlie McDowell shared the happy news with their Instagram followers.
“Welcome to the center of our world Tove Jane McDowell,” 35-year-old Collins wrote in a caption, as you can see below.
“Words will never express our endless gratitude for our incredible surrogate and everyone who helped us along the way,” she affirmed. Collins then expressed: “We love you to the moon and back again …”
Tastefully, neither Collins nor McDowell seem to be in a rush to broadcast their newborn baby’s face. Instead, the photo shows Tove’s name much more prominently. The bassinet makes their child look so, so small.
And no, Lily Collins was not pregnant. The couple welcomed Tove via surrogate. And, if you read the caption thanking the surrogate (or perhaps gestational carrier), you know that.
For those who did not read the caption, the happy announcement came as a shock. As you can see in this photo from December 2024, she was very obviously not pregnant quite recently.
Lily Collins has spoken about how the desire to become a parent transformed her life
Back in 2017, Lily Collins spoke to Us Weekly about how part of recovering from her eating disorder was focusing upon her desire to one day become a parent.
“Everyone has a different form of recovery. I never had an ‘aha’ moment,” she acknowledged at the time.
“My reason to finally start talking about [my eating disorder] was the moment I realized I wanted a family,” Collins explained. “I wanted kids. I didn’t want this to be something I bring into that.”
In September of 2020, Lily Collins and Charlie McDowell went public with their engagement. They married a year later, in September 2021.
Both Collins and McDowell are in the entertainment industry. Both have ties to the UK. And, as we acknowledged, both are nepo babies.
Lily Collins is the daughter of drummer Phil Collins. Charlie McDowell, as you may have instantly noticed from his face, is the son of actor Malcolm McDowell. His mother is actress Mary Steenburgen, and he is the stepson of actor Ted Danson — to whom Steenburgen has been married for about 30 years.
Congratulations to the new parents!
Some might criticize Lily Collins for having a child without being pregnant herself. Surrogacy in any form, including gestational carriers, can be controversial.
The truth is that we do not know exactly why Collins and McDowell elected to welcome their baby via surrogate. It could be for health reasons or for convenience or anything in between. This matter is truly not our business.
What is our business is how happy we are for this happy couple and baby Tove.