Tyra Banks Announces ‘Miracle Baby’ In Surprise Instagram Post

Tyra Banks posted a sweet Instagram to celebrate the birth of her baby boy.

There’s a new celebrity mom in town, and no one saw it coming. Former supermodel and entrepreneur Tyra Banks announced last night that she’s welcomed a son with boyfriend Erik Asla, and the baby was born via surrogacy.

Banks shared the news on Instagram, where she posted a photo of the baby’s hat with a sweet note touching on her struggles with infertility. She wrote, “The best present we worked and prayed so hard for is finally here. He’s got my fingers and big eyes and his daddy Erik’s mouth and chin. As we thank the angel of a woman that carried our miracle baby boy for us, we pray for everyone who struggles to reach this joyous milestone. York Banks Asla, welcome to the world.”

The 42-year-old mom hasn’t been shy in discussing her tough journey to motherhood. In a candid interview with People last year, she told the magazine, “Since I was 24, I used to say every year, ‘I will have kids in three years. I kept saying it over and over again… When you’re like, ‘OK, I’m just going to do it,’ then it’s not so easy as you get older.” She also revealed that she’d undergone several in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures trying to conceive and had some “very traumatic moments with that.”

Banks didn’t reveal to anyone that she had a baby on the way, and no details have been released about the surrogate mom. It’s moving, though, that she took the time to publicly thank the woman and to extend well-wishes to the many thousands of other people who struggle to conceive the babies they so desperately want. In an official statement she sent even more words of love to struggling couples, saying:

“As I gaze into the beautiful eyes of my son, I think about all the people who struggle with fertility or carrying a child and continue to pray for them every day. My hopes and dreams are filled with well wishes that they get to feel what my little treasure, York Banks Asla, feels like in my arms.”

According to the Centers For Disease Control, about 12 percent of all women ages 15-44 have difficulty getting pregnant or carrying a pregnancy to term, and one-third of couples have trouble conceiving if the woman is over age 35. For couples who struggle with infertility, the journey can be long, isolating, and painful, and stories like Tyra’s can offer a lot of encouragement, as well as serving as a reminder that they’re not alone in what they’re going through. It can truly happen to anyone.

Tyra’s willingness to use her platform to talk about infertility, surrogacy, and to send so much love and support to others is inspiring. Congratulations to her and her partner on their exciting new addition, and may other hopeful women like Tyra get their miracle babies too.