Elizabeth Banks has revealed that she and husband Max Handelman underwent about 10 rounds of in vitro fertilization (IVF) before welcoming their sons Felix, 15, and Magnus, 13, through surrogacy.
On Wednesday’s episode of the “Modern Love” podcast, she recalled that her doctor immediately suggested surrogacy, but also said, “We could do IVF and do all that.”
“And we did. So did I,” Banks, 52, said. “We went through nine procedures to give birth to our two sons.”
However, the “Miniature Wives” star ended up going his separate ways.
“My husband and I had to use surrogacy to have our baby, which meant making a cake for the baby and baking it in another woman’s oven,” Banks explained.
The “Hunger Games” actress said she’s never been pregnant, but that may have been an obvious sign all along.
“When we were having trouble conceiving, the first thing my fertility doctor asked me was, ‘Have you ever been pregnant?’ And I thought, ‘That’s a strange question,'” Banks continued.
The “30 Rock” alum added that she started having sex at age 15 and “never felt scared.”
“A woman gets pregnant after having sex almost continuously for 20 years,” she mused. “So that was my first wake-up call like, oh, maybe something is completely wrong here.”
In 2011, Banks opened up about her infertility treatments while announcing the birth of Felix in a blog post on her website.
“The real hurdle I faced in life was having a stomach upset,” the “Pitch Perfect” star wrote. “After years of trying to conceive and exploring various fertility treatments, all of which failed, our journey led us to surrogacy.”
Banks, now a teenager, calls his “miracle” baby, hence his nickname.
“Felix means “happy” or “lucky” in Latin,” she exclaimed. “As his name suggests, Felix is a very happy baby and a blessing in our lives.”
Just a year later, Banks welcomed Magnus into the world in her second blog.
“There is so much to be thankful for, personally, professionally, and as president,” she wrote. “But nothing can match the joy and excitement my husband and I felt when we recently welcomed our second baby boy.”
Banks, who married Handelman, 52, in 2003, has largely kept their children out of the spotlight in the years since.
The 2023 Emmy nominee spoke about motherhood and her on-screen career.
“I don’t know what that balance is. There’s no balance that’s achievable,” Banks told People magazine at the time. “For me, what I’ve come to is letting go of the guilt. It’s a social thing. But you let it go. And I trust my husband. My husband is just like, ‘Okay.’
