Jimmy Fallon Opens Up About His Surrogacy Journey

Jimmy Fallon Takes One Large Step for Infertility

The late-night host’s admission that daughter Winnie Rose Fallon was born via a surrogate will help remove the shroud of secrecy and judgment that surrounds infertility.

In his popular “Thank You Notes” segment on a recent episode, Jimmy Fallon wrote the following note to Prince George: “Thank you, the Royal Baby, or as I call you: the other baby.” He then gleefully winked to the camera and waved as a photo of his new baby girl, who was born the day after His Royal Highness, flashed onto the screen.

Fallon’s adorable joy about becoming a father is completely in line with his fun, youthful exuberance; however, what was most surprising about Winnie’s arrival is that no one besides Fallon and his wife, Nancy Juvonen, knew she was on her way. In a candid interview with Savannah Guthrie, the host revealed why. “My wife and I had been trying a while to have a baby. We tried a bunch of things—so we had a surrogate.” They also made another decision: “We said, ‘We’re not going to tell anybody.’ It’d be just more fun if it’s just private between me and my wife. And then we get to introduce her to everybody.”

Although one in six U.S. couples have trouble conceiving, celebrity couples who use surrogates are often the object of public scorn due to their increased resources allowing them to have a child through alternative methods. Winnie Rose Fallon’s conception via a surrogate is making national news for a very important reason: Fallon’s candor is furthering the national dialogue—and awareness of—the truth about infertility. “To date, Hollywood stars having baby-making troubles haven’t received much public sympathy, amid criticism of being able to ‘buy’ their way out of fertility problems with expensive medical help that many Americans can’t afford,” Sarah Elizabeth Richards writes on Time.com in a piece titled “Coming Out of the Fertility Closet.”

Redbook launched the Truth About Trying campaign in 2011 to raise awareness about all couples’ struggles with infertility. Just because Fallon and Juvonen were able to have their daughter via a surrogate does not mean they avoided the emotional and physical roller coaster that millions of couples encounter while trying to conceive. We admire Jimmy Fallon’s openness, which will hopefully further remove the shroud of secrecy that surrounds infertility.