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Cheetah Girls Star Adrienne Bailon Shares Her Son's Birth Story

Bailon shares a deep-dive into her surrogacy journey and what she didn't expect in a new video. See why so many moms have resonated with her story here.
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By Wyndi Kappes, Associate Editor
Updated May 3, 2023
Israel Houghton and Adrienne Bailon attend the Elton John AIDS Foundation's 30th Annual Academy Awards Viewing Party on March 27, 2022 in West Hollywood, California
Image: Michael Kovac/Getty Images

Cheetah Girls star Adrienne Bailon and her husband Israel Houghton are inspiring parents worldwide with their surrogacy story.

Over the weekend, the couple officially shared their son Ever James’ full birth story on YouTube. During the 40-minute video, Bailon and Houghton talked about everything from how they prepped for their surrogate’s home birth to what it felt like to do skin-to-skin for the first time. Bailon touches on the things she never expected and what surprised her during the process—the common theme despite not knowing what she was doing, the experience was magical.

Shortly after posting the video parents flocked to thank Bailon for sharing her story. “I have been dealing with infertility for 7 years, been in fertility treatment for 4 years, did 2 rounds of IVF, 5 embryo transfers, 2 miscarriages (one being twins), and 3 failed transfers. This journey is so hard, but seeing stories like this gives me so much joy and hope,” shared one mom in the comments on the YouTube video. “Loved it!! I bursted into tears when I saw you pull Ever out, what a beautiful moment, thank you for making us participants of your journey,” added another user on Instagram.

Bailon intially shared the happy news of the arrival of her first child via an Instagram post on August 16. Bailon captioned a sweet photo with her new son and husband, "Ever James. For this child we have prayed. Just to hear our baby cry. Skin to skin and face to face. Heart to heart and eye to eye. Our baby boy is here and we are so in love!”

The Real television host went on to talk about her difficult journey to motherhood through surrogacy. “If you have followed our love story, you know that our journey to baby has been very challenging. But God is true to his word and his promises. We have quietly prayed while sitting on this most magnificent secret for the last 9 months,” Bailon wrote.

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“He is worth every tear, every disappointment, every delayed prayer, every IVF cycle, every miscarriage. Everything. All we feel is joy and overwhelming love & gratitude. Grateful to God, to our angel surrogate and to all of our friends and family who have stood with us for over 5 years on this journey. He’s here and we have never been happier to lose sleep! #HappilyEverHoughton,” she added.

Bailon and Houghton’s friends, family and fans expressed their excitement in the comments. Bailon’s former The Real co-host and new mom Jeannie Mai Jenkins, wrote “HE IS HERE! Lord thank you for this gift You spent quality time making [him] for Israel and Ade. Every second of perfection. Thank you for his genius mind and adorable smile that’s bout to light up our world! We’ve been waiting for u Ever!! Monaco’s ready for matching outfits.”

Fellow Disney star Tamera Mowry also celebrated Ever’s birth, “Wooooo-hooooo! Cried so many tears of joy today! So happy for you my love! See you guys sooooon,” she wrote.

Bailon and Houghton tied the knot in Paris in November 2016. Two years after getting married, Adrienne shared her determination to be a mother despite setbacks. “I refuse to let this be the end of my story,” she told OK! Magazine. “I know that it’s not. And I love it that I tell myself, it’s not a question of will I be a mother, it’s a question of when. And I promised myself that I’m sticking to it.”

Power to this determined mamma and our congratulations to her on baby boy Ever James!

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