Let’s face it: no one believed that Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton would make it this long. I mean… I didn’t think they would last one solid year. It seemed like their coupling had been dreamt up as a cocaine-addled fantasy by NBC executives, with two valuable commodities (Blake and Gwen) suddenly finding themselves single. Maybe that’s how it happened in the beginning, but let’s be real: if they were JUST a fauxmance couple, they wouldn’t have been able to “fake it” this long, and so convincingly. They really are dating, and they really are into each other. I wouldn’t be surprised if they got married. I also wouldn’t be surprised if this Us Weekly cover story is true, and Gwen is trying to get pregnant:
Of all Blake Shelton’s roles, there are few he relishes more than Oklahoma tourist guide. Introducing girlfriend Gwen Stefani and her boys — Kingston, 11, Zuma, 9, and Apollo, 3 — to his home state is thrilling, he recently told Entertainment Tonight. “It’s been a lot of fun for me to be the one to get to expose them to this,” he said of bringing everyone to the September 30 opening of his Tishomingo eatery, Ole Red. “They love it so much, her entire family.” Everyone from her sons to her parents are enamored with the country life, insists Shelton: “There’s times when we’ve had holiday gatherings, and I’m talking about 30-plus family members from her side, from my side.”
Come Christmas 2018, they’re hoping to make room for one more. Blissful two years into their surprising romance, the country music sensation, 41, and the 48-year-old rocker turned fashion mogul are eager to expand their family, multiple sources reveal in the new issue of Us Weekly.
The divorcées — he announced the end of his marriage to Miranda Lambert in July 2015; she split with her husband of 13 years, Gavin Rossdale, a month later — “will get married one day,” says a Shelton insider, “but right now they are hyper-focused on getting pregnant.”
Noting the No Doubt front woman learned she was expecting Apollo at the age of 43, the source says she and the nine-time Country Music Association Award winner are confident they’ll have a child together. “They believe there is still a chance for Gwen,” says the Shelton insider. “They are incredibly hopeful.”
Becoming a dad has long been on Shelton’s wish list. His urge to start a family was a factor in his split with Lambert, says a friend. So when his romance with Stefani became serious, he was upfront about his future plans. “Blake told Gwen he does want kids of his own,” says a Shelton source, “and Gwen was willing to try. With her, Blake has the exact relationship and family life he’d hoped to have with Miranda. Gwen’s everything he wants.”
A child of their own would be the icing on the proverbial cake. “Gwen and Blake started talking quickly about having a baby,” says a close Shelton confidante. But so far that dream has been elusive, says the Shelton insider. Though the couple first began trying for a baby last year, “starting a family has not been easy for them,” says the insider. “It’s something that they really want and it’s just not working out the way they wanted it to.”
Despite the hardship, the pair are rock solid. “They struggle they’re facing is making them stronger,” says the Shelton insider. “They are so committed to one another and protective of one another.”
I had to look it up – Apollo Rossdale was born in February 2014, when Gwen was 44 years old. Halle Berry gave birth at 47 (to son Maceo), so it can be done, although I would assume that it will take some help from fertility doctors. I think Halle always said that Maceo was conceived naturally and it was a surprise, so it does happen to some (repeat, SOME) women in their 40s. Considering what we know about Gwen and how baby-oriented she is, the only real surprise is that she only started trying to get pregnant a year ago. I would have thought she would have started trying like ten seconds after she got with Blake. Also: why not adopt? It’s a decision every person/couple has to make for themselves, but why does it feel like adoption isn’t part of their conversation?
Photos courtesy of Getty, cover courtesy of Us Weekly.
Correct me if I’m wrong but …didn’t Gwen have a very difficult time conceiving Apollo? I seem to recall a miscarriage between Zuma and Apollo, too. While I applaud them if they’re really trying, I actually kind of doubt it considering Gwen’s documented fertility struggles. The three kids she has are already such blessings … Kaiser I think you’re right that they should consider adoption.
From what I recall, I think Gavin was pretty surprised that they had their youngest kid in the first place. Not sure he was fully aware they were legit trying for a baby or not. But who knows. Celebrities are often full of it when they say they just happened to conceive naturally without even really trying when they’re in their 40s.
I could be mixing her up with someone else though- it’s possible that they tried hard for the baby and it took a while. And that was almost 4 years ago.
She might have. But Apollo was a surprise, not planned. He said he had been on the road a lot, so they knew when he was conceived, after a weekend home, I guess. He said he got a call from Gwen with the surprise news. Both of them were blown away and overwhelmed. I think they thought that ship had sailed.
I could see using a donor egg and Blake’s sperm. My friend was trying for a second. She used in vitro the first time. But she was 39. The next time was early 40s and in vitro didn’t work. So she used a donor egg of a younger woman and her husband’s sperm but carried the baby.
>So she used a donor egg of a younger woman and her husband’s sperm but carried the baby.
Ridiculous. You get all the downsides of pregnancy like weight gain, saggy breasts and stretch marks to give birth to a child that’s not genetically yours anyway. Why not just adopt?
I think she is very lucky to have 3 healthy boys. However, I also believe that the longevity of her relationship with Blake will be based on her ability to have a child with him.
I think she should look at having a surrogate.
You are correct. It was rumored she had a miscarriage before Apollo and they had been trying for some time for baby #3. I don’t think this story is true only because Gwen is quite traditional and religious and I can’t see her having a child out of wedlock.
Yeah, I hate the concept of having babies just so you have “your own”. Blake probably doesn’t want to adopt because of that. Otherwise he’d see Gwen’s boys as his.
Yeah I am adopted and people have no shame about saying that “it is not the same as having your own child” right to my face. People are jerks, you either have the capacity to love and raise a child or you don’t, shared DNA has little to do with it.
Yup, agree. I’m a parent by adoption and agree, having long seen that some people see my child as a child and others who see my childas an *adopted* child. I know which group I turned to for support. Adoption is a way of making families not an inborn trait.
And people can say such dumb things. They don’t think how it hurts the children. Finally why so smug about conceiving and carrying? That’s biologically programmed. Maybe it’s because adoption was our first choice, but it’s harder to understand bragging rights for having genes, the most passive endowment. We do all the hard work of parenting and we’re still perpetuating the species. I never critiqued how others chose pregnancy and they shouldn’t critique my/ our choice.
That’s terrible. I have two first cousins who were adopted and how they joined our family is a non-issue. I’m closer to them than any of my biological cousins and am always surprised when people look at us funny when I introduce ourselves as cousins (I am Caucasian and they are Asian).
That is ugly behavior. If giving birth made a parent superior we wouldn’t have crime or foster kids or abuse. There are plenty of people who can procreate that absolutely shouldn’t be in charge of anything much less a human being.
I don’t think of any of my relatives as “adopted.” They are special because their parents loved them before they even knew them they were just ready for the child. They are 100 percent wanted and cherished.
I remember an interview with Sandra Bullock where she corrected the journalist who asked about her adopted son. She said he is my son, not my adopted son with some bite in her tone.
And the thing is, saying kids are “your own” perpetuates that whole ownership thing about kids. Any decent parent is in for a rude awakening if they believe that anyone “owns” any other human being, big or small.
I own my car, not my kid.
You are all adopted, you’re so lucky.
The lowest child is the foster child, i can say you, i heard nastier things.
Even when i was in my early 20s i was called fosterchild.
When people look at you (as a child) and say hallo who is the pretty girl, and the woman answered oh that’s the fosterchild (like that’s our pet) and their faces changed, like i have the plague.
People who know treat you like trash.
I dearly wished that somebody would want me and adopt me, never happen.
So Adopted children are lucky in my eyes, and yes this in no title, a child is a child not a foster-or adoptee, everybody should understand that.
WATP, you reminded me of this, which I love.
“Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them,
but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.” -Khalil Gibran
Yes, to you all and Sarah, an enormous hug to you. One of my children is adopted the other is bio and there is no difference, of course. If anytime, easier to bond when they are first home as you aren’t hormonal and exhausted.
I too was adopted and not only have heard the ” it’s not the same” comment but also, because I am mixed and my siblings were also mixed, no one knew right away and would tell me how lucky I was to be adopted into an already mixed family. Ugh… those sorts of people I just ignore and feel a little bit of pity for that they are so small minded.
Oh sheesh. You’re a big-minded person for seeing it that way.
Adoptees get told they are ‘lucky’ so often. It really discounts the possible pain of not knowing their biological kin, being separated from them in what likely were difficult circumstances, and in many cases not being raised in their birth culture or amid others who look like them. Adoption’s complexity doesn’t make it not worthwhile, but … well, I’m back to sheesh. Families are not litters.
I’m adopted also and people at my mother’s church would say, “but you take after your mother so much in looks.” One woman actually claimed I was lying for attention. My mother set her straight on that! Screw that, I’m not a second class citizen in my family, nasty church lady.
P.S. Adoption agencies in the 60’s tried to match kids to one parent in looks. They picked my blonde haired-blue eyed mother to try and match me.
I am so sorry. There never seems to be a limit to the garbage some people will say to others.
Sorry you encountered that.
A former, older boss told me – knowing I a white woman had recently adopted from China – had attended a bat mitzvah for a ? Korean adoptee and when she went up there, he told himself, “What’s wrong with this picture?” Guffaw, guffaw.
I told him he was looking at the future of Judaism. I could have (should have) said a lot harsher. Honestly, people should just zip it sometimes.
So if the ship officially sailed, will he still want to be with her? If having a family is ONE of the reasons he left Miranda, what would stop him this time? Could he be infertile? Why is it all on Gwen? So many questions. Adoption would be nice. Im adopted and have lovely parents. Gwen has to be enough for Blake. Everything as it is now. Then they have a chance at lasting.
Exactly. There was slim chance of a kid with her age when they got together and he should have realised that. I would hope he’d stay with her even if it’s not possible but so many people get so hung up on having kids they prioritise the non-existent kid over their existing loving partner. It’s fascinating and horrific.
I doubt this is true. I’m sure that dozens of people will say their 70 year old grandmother just gave birth to twins last week but it’s very difficult to get pregnant even with help when a woman is in her late 40’s. These stories always make it sound like they will get pregnant just by thinking about it.
I had a friend in middle school and the first time I met his mom I was like, “your grandma is the coolest!” We were 12 and she was 60 at the time. Apparently she got pregnant right at the start of menopause which can happen (though, I guess rare.) both his siblings were around 30!!!
lol well, I wasn’t 70 but I had my second child a week after I turned 47. There was no medical intervention involved. She’s the baby in my avi (when she was 1 1/2 and smeared lipstick all over her). Now she’s a college freshman, and we are so happy we have her, and her brother of course.
My grandmother had one at 46. perfectly healthy. It is possible for sure but not easy to get pregnant later.
Awww, minx, I’ve always loved your avi, I didn’t know that was your daughter. So cute.
That picture of your daughter always makes me grin when I see it, minx.
Sophia and Lady D–thank you so much! She’s 18 now, looks a bit different 😆
There will always be such stories that make us all think it’s possible.
It is possible, but it’s very rare.
And yes, my teacher was 51 when she had her first baby by the usual type of conception 🙂
It happened to my sister who purposely had one child because she hated pregnancy and travels a lot so she knew one could come everywhere with them. She thought she was going through menopause and was thrilled not to have periods anymore, but nope she was pregnant. She kvetched the entire time too, but she is happy.
I think it could be true. As some people have commented already, it is still possible (although statistically low) for a woman in her mid-to-late 40s to have a child naturally. So the possibility is there, however minuscule. Secondly, Stefani and Blake are wealthy so even if they can’t conceive naturally, they can afford IVF or a surrogate to have a biological child.
I won’t hate on either Gwen or Blake if they want a biological child. Adoption isn’t for everyone, and the biological desire to have a child of one’s own flesh and blood is strong for a lot of people that this world is overpopulated. If that weren’t true, more people would adopt or not have children at all.
‘Gwen Stefani, 48, and Blake Shelton, 40, are really trying to get pregnant’
She might be eight years older but my money’s on her.
10/10
LOLOLOLOLOL!!! Win!!
👍👍😂😂😂 best comment win!
Hmmm, you might be on to something…
I just looked up Gwen’s age and she is 48 years old. Wow she looks ten years younger. Women can gestate healthy babies in their forties nowadays, so go right ahead Gwen and have a baby!
I think she looks great. Go, Gwen!
If she gives birth at 48, she will be 60 when her child is 12.
I am 60. My kids are in their mid to late 20s.
Just the thought of being responsible for a 12 year-old now makes me tired. If it was the result of unavoidable circumstances like a grandchild whose parents died, of course I’d step up.
Adopting seems smarter at 48 if these two really, really, really need a child of their own.
To actively seek out being the parent of a teen in my 60s? No. It’s nice to hope that if we take care of our bodies, our bodies will not betray us with fatigue and illness. We may not “deserve” it because we took care of ourselves. Yet this is what often happens. None of us know what life will bring as we age. To everything there is a season.
I’m your age, know what you mean. Have friends my age or a bit older parenting teens…it’s do-able but they’re tired. A lot of us turning 60 have a “anything can happen” feeling healthwise, too.
If only you could have a crystal ball for things like that. Some people are still going strong like Jane Fonda (79), Susan Sarandon (71), Helen Mirren (72), living big lives and still healthy, gorgeous, curious, vital women in their 70s. And I have to say Julianne Moore turning 57 in a couple of months is ageless to me. She just glows and radiates health and energy to me. She still has teens at home. My friend just turned 50 and has a 10 year old and a six year old, and she looks like a sexier younger Julianne Moore. She has more energy than I ever could and loves being a parent, as does her handsome husband, and she owns a very successful company. She has enough staff that she can be with her children a lot, not tied to the office all the time. They take the kids on all kinds of trips as a family all over.
But then the flip side is I just read the wife of one of my favorite singers, Roland Orzabal, of Tears for Fears, passed away this summer. They were on tour and canceled it for several months. Word leaked out recently she had passed away over the summer. She was only like 55 years old. I suspect it was cancer, because the year before they canceled a month of dates citing a family medical emergency.
You just never know in life. A wonderful attorney here in town died of a massive heart attack recently. He was fit and healthy and so darn personable. He was only 50. One of his sons was still pretty young.
I know several guys in their 60s who have new babies with their much younger wives. In social situations, it always looks like oh, someone was so nice to bring grandpa to the party…
My parents had me in their mid-40’s and I can say being raised by older parents wasn’t always great, I got so tired of everyone asking if they were my grandparents and yeah, they were tired and didn’t want to play the games that parents normally play with their kids.
The only thing that might make it different for Gwen is that she has a 3 year old now. So assuming she got pregnant within a year the siblings would only be 4-5 years apart. That means she’ll be raising kids at 60 anyway. I’m in my mid 40s and my youngest is in high school. NO WAY would I start over now. I could never go back to sleepless nights and not being able to leave the kids home alone. The taste of freedom you get when the youngest child no longer needs a babysitter is priceless!!
I had my daughter at 40. Sometimes, there is a story, often a sad one, behind these events. My daughter was my third pregnancy. I lost my first baby, my son, at 5 months, then tried again and had an early miscarriage. I am 65; she is turning 25 soon. She is the light of our lives. Now, Harla, I am so sorry. Luckily for us, my husband was a fabulous athlete, even in his forties, and he and my daughter did all the athletic things. She’s a rugby player [not professional] today.
If they want a baby and can conceive why not have one? For many people it is enough that your love for your new child helps get you through the difficulties early on like sleepless nights. It’s called selflessness. I would rather be taking care of a child than still out partying etc when I’m in my 60ies.
The people commenting now in our 60s aren’t saying we’d rather be out partying than raising babies. We’re saying it often gets harder to be out doing ANYTHING. The odds of illness and injury simply go up, and a % of that is beyond our control.
It could happen. My OB/GYN said half of her pregnant clients are women in their 40s. One of my clients had a baby at 49! Crazy.
Sometimes wishes can’t come true. My BF and I had a good laugh at our own expense the other day. I said (jokingly), “Oh, I want to have your baby”-I’m 53 and done. He replied, “Oh darling, I wish it could be so”-he was snipped after his third child with his ex.
It was a strangely poignant moment despite the laughs.
Fertility appears to be a mysterious thing. I am 43 and in the last year I have had two 41 year old friends have their first babies, two 42 year old friends have their second and third respectively and one 45 year old friend have her second. All of these were without medical intervention – that said, I have three other friends who have only conceived after anywhere between 4 and 6 rounds of IVF (all in their 30s). The only thing I can say is that I get utterly infuriated by people talking about women holding off having children for the sake of their careers – all of the aforementioned (wonderful, able and intelligent women) had children later in life because they had either (a) not found a life partner to do it with or (b) had not got themselves into a financial position as a single person to feel that they were able to.
I’m not here to tell anyone when the perfect time to have a child should be – everyone has different dreams and desires. However, personally speaking, I like seeing more college educated women choosing to hold off on having children until later in life. When I say “later in life” I mean waiting until their late 20s to late 30s, which actually isn’t old in the grand scheme of things. That decade seems to be a good time when women who have the desire to work can finish school, establish a career for themselves, and know what they want in a partner. If a career oriented woman wants a child, I would recommend starting to look for a partner by one’s late 20s or early 30s. It can take years and it’s not easy to find the right one for many women. I’m in the process of dating and I’ve come across a lot of toads, but still hoping I can find my “prince” to settle down with and start a family.
This made me think that women who wait to have babies really only have a good 10 year span from 30-40 where they could get pregnant relatively easily. And then I thought about Duchess Kate and how she’s on #3. She could have a 4th by the time she’s 40. And then reading this about Gwen, I thought, maybe Kate would try to be this woman too. Who knows what Gwen’s motives are, but we all know that the Duchess has babies at least in part to avoid being a full time Royal. I doubt that they would go past 4 babies, but I wonder if Kate has wondered how long she can do this. Stories like Gwen wanting to try at 48, probably give her some sort of inspiration.
Did I just threadjack? Lol I’m not sure.
Kate is having babies right now. Lots of women have their kids relatively close together and have more than one or two kids. It’s so ridiculous to just assume she’s doing it to get out of royal duties. She’s just having her kids.
I know, this narrative is so wrong. Seems go me that she genuinely likes, and is committed to, mothering kids.
Considering she (Kate) has somewhat difficult pregnancy (and even an easy pregnancy takes a toll), I doubt she would do it just to get out of work. Some women honestly want big families, and she does seem pretty family-oriented. I can’t see how there’s anything wrong with that. My pro-choice stance goes both ways.
As for Gwen, I’m 41 and all I can say is: better her than me! My youngest is 10 and no more lol! But I was just feeling kind of depressed this morning like, “I’m going to be single and never have a partner again because I’m too old now” silliness. I’m no Gwen Stefani, but there’s still hope LOL as long as the person doesn’t want me to have anymore babies lol
This ‘relationship ‘ is fake. She will never get pregnant because they’re not a real couple!
Sure. That’s why California girl Gwen flies to Oklahoma all the time with her kids and hangs out in the country with Blake, even,had her whole family out to Oklahoma to spend the holidays with Blake and his family, lots of photos, because it’s fake, and travels with him to many of his country music gigs, and he to hers during her tour last year, because it’s all fake.
Yes, it is.
If Gwen didn’t have kids, I might have called fake. But I doubt that she would put her three children through the process of bonding with Blake unless she was genuine about the relationship.
“Fashion mogul” 😏
It’s sweet that he wants a baby with her but 1) I don’t believe that this is all him and 2) the woman is pushing 50. For god’s sake. She looks incredible and I’m sure has the best care but pregnancy at that age is so risky for both mother and baby IF you can even get there at all. You date a woman who is 48, you know this. If your one wish is for a child that’s biologically yours and that’s more important than your relationship, you’re in the wrong relationship or a jerk. Not saying that that’s the case but man. Why do people want babies at all costs?
Especially when there are so many awesome children out there wanting so much to have a family that cares for them.
Gwen! Snap out of it!
I wonder if she ever froze her eggs when she was younger?
That might explain why they have any hope that this could be possible (assuming this story is true, of course – tabloids love publishing “[insert female celebrity’s name] desperation to have a baby – inside her secret struggle” fan fiction)
I’m almost positive I watched an interview with her before she had any kids with Gavin saying she was thinking about freezing her eggs… which makes me think she did. They could definitely have a baby via surrogate.
why not adopt? i’m sure a good ol boy like blake shelton wants a son of his own. if he has a girl he’ll shoot her boyfriends with a shotgun. yee haww….yawn. everyone in this story needs a nap.
It is possible to conceive in your mid 40s. My father in law was born to a 45 year old, and my grandfather’s mother was 45 or 46. Some people go through menopause much later on in life.
However, have unlimited sums of money as a celeb, I wouldnt be surprised if both Halle and Gwen froze their eggs in their 20s or 30s.
Weren’t the stories a few months ago that she’d turned down his marriage proposal? You never know what to believe with the tabloids as most of it is BS anyway.
My aunt Meri got pregnant at 48 ( naturally)and the baby was very healthy. I feel a bit sorry for Gwen, the pressure she must be under.
Aggggghhhh. This is one of those topics that makes me crazy, and this post just plays right into the myth – that Hollywood in particular helped to create.
It is scientific fact that the chances of getting pregnant WITH YOUR OWN EGGS after 43 are only 1 to 2 percent! And the oldest women on record getting pregnant USING IVF with her OWN EGGS was 46.
This is not to say that there aren’t rare exceptions, but they’re actually more like miracles once you’re Gwen’s age.
Sorry for the caps above, but that’s the key – OWN EGGS. The reality is most celebs getting pregnant at this age are not using their own eggs. Most doctors won’t even bother with IVF at Gwen’s age unless it’s using DONOR EGGS. This is the thing you don’t hear about with celeb pregnancies – they never talk about how they used a donor egg. I would not be surprised if that was the case for Halle Berry too. And because so many celebs use donor eggs and don’t talk about it, women all over the country think they can just walk into a fertility clinic and get pregnant in their mid to late 40s with their own eggs. Or by that point, I should say “egg.” Nope.
My suspicion with someone like Halle would be that she did use her own eggs but that they were probably frozen from when she was much younger.
I agree though that a lot of the geriatric pregnancies are not as natural as people in Hollywood claims they are. But I think the fakery is a misguided attempt to maintain some sort of image. Like for example, how Kate Winslet lied about having an natural childbirth. It is unfortunate though for women who are trying to conceive and do not necessarily have the benefit of being able to afford all of these different reproductive technologies to be bombarded with what are essentially lies.
This whole Blake and Gwen story seems fake to me though. It is surprising to me that Twice married, no kids Blake would suddenly at 40 have a burning desire to be a dad. He was a normal child rearing age when he was with his first wife and their is no indication she was opposed to children. But I guess we should take from the fact they only mentioned Miranda that that whole marriage never happened?
I’m not denying the strong possibility that many are using donor eggs. I don’t know where you’re getting this “on record” business however. Family member went to a fertility clinic that showed all of their success rates by age, and their highest clinical own-egg use success story was 49 at time of retrieval (full-term, genetically healthy baby as a result). By no means easy, horrible odds (1 percent), took a great deal of effort and money, but that was the in-clinic stats.
Threads about infertility drive me absolutely bonkers because of all of the myths out there.
1-Unless something has happened since her youngest was born, there is absolutely no reason why she would need a gestational carrier/surrogate to carry a pregnancy. Even women that have gone through menopause can carry a pregnancy.
2- The majority of pregnancies after age 43 are conceived with donor eggs. Does that mean it is impossible? Absolutely not. Many commentators will have anecdotal stories about people in their lives conceiving naturally after that age.
3- People keep comparing one celeb’s pregnancy to another to another, all with different ages, genetics, health situations. It’s pointless to compare one to another.
4- I wish people would stop judging people about how they choose to build their families. No one owes us an explanation as to how they achieved their pregnancy.
Sorry, I’ll finish my coffee so I stop being an a-hole.
Yup you covered everything here.
You are no a-hole. I like your comment.
@notsugarhere – The stat I referenced is here and in many other places: http://www.bionews.org.uk/page_424607.asp. That said, I think you’re right. Since then, the “record” of using own egg with IVF may have now jumped up to 49.
@Unoriginal Commenter – I wasn’t judging at all. I couldn’t care less how anyone conceives, whether they adopt, etc. It’s awesome when anyone is able to have a child in any way! And yes, of course it’s possible to conceive using your own egg after 43, but it’s still much rarer. My only point is that because so many celebrities are having babies in their mid-40s and later, and they don’t acknowledge that they used a donor egg in many cases, this leads to a lot of women thinking they can just wait until they’re much older and then easily get pregnant. I’m also not saying celebs have any responsibility to tell us how they got pregnant – just that it has definitely helped to create a myth that you can simply wait until you’re much older and then easily get pregnant with your own eggs – when that’s not really the case, even with IVF. I guess I’m really just saying – if more women were more informed about this, they might make different choices about when to start trying to conceive – particularly if it’s important to them to conceive with their own egg.
You’re definitely not an a hole. Your comments are all spot on.
I couldn’t agree more. No one owes any one an explanation. And, as I posted above, pregnancy can and does happen over 40 – a fact that the Hate Mail and similar publications choose to gloss over in the interests of keeping women barefoot and subjugated.
You should copy and paste this in every future post about a woman over 35 getting pregnant. Some people can’t get it through their heads that it is entirely possible, and that women do not need to have their lives dictated by babies and family commitments starting in their early to mid 20s if they don’t want to.
@JoJo, I didn’t think you were judging. I nested my comment under yours because I had the same reaction as your “this topic makes me crazy” quote.
Oh, ha! Thanks @Unoriginal Commenter. I wasn’t sure, so I felt I had to explain myself – didn’t want my post to be misinterpreted. 🙂
I don’t think those statistics are accurate; to the best of my knowledge, they’re based on obsolete studies of French census records from the 1700s, not modern case studies. It’s definitely unusually to have a baby in your late 40s, but not that unusual–I know at least 5 women who’ve done it without IVF, including my own mother, who was 47 when she had me.
Thank you! A lot of the comments in this thread are full of ignorance regarding fertility after 40. It’s driving me crazy! And yes, everyone knows someone who conceived naturally in their late 40s but it is rare. It’s ridiculous that people think all these 40+ celebs getting pregnant could have done so naturally. A few, sure. But their celebrity status does not make them somehow more likely than the average woman to have late in life pregnancies. My guess is unlimited resources has something to do with it.
I’m also not understanding why people are suggesting a surrogate. Looks like she was able to have 3 full term pregnancies.
Idk this doesn’t seem true at all. Or else there aren’t that many studies done. 1 to 2 percent chance?! There’s no way.
I grew up in fundamentalist religion where no birth control was allowed – the instances of women having babies after age 43 was absolutely higher than 1-2 percent. Like way higher. A baby at 44, 45, 46, was in no way rare.
And they did not use any donor eggs, or Even clomid or anything at all. As that was considered going outside “Gods will”.
I think fertility industry is indeed an industry and I just dont believe this stat. Way less chance yes. Only a 1-2 percent chance? No. I don’t believe it.
If I’m not mistaken, the second age group that has the most unplanned pregnancies is mid 40s (first being 20-25). Maybe it’s because women that age think it is safe to give up on bc’s because they are midlifers. It’s not hard to believe Gwen can conceive. She can have problems though. Gwen can do better though, publicity baby is Tori Spelling territory.
She was papped going to her acupuncturist 1-2 times a week during the last pregnancy. I assumed it was to keep healthy amounts of blood flowing to the uterus. That’s just one of the possible problems.
Why don’t they just adopt a grandchild?
So it’s wrong now to want biological children, if you can have them? Okay, guess we should shame people for trying for one without immediately going the adoption route. Yeah, it’s far fetched that a 48 year old thinks she can get pregnant, but if she genuinely wants to try and they are both on the same page, why not?
Sandy, no one is saying it’s wrong to want to have a biological child.
But it is old biological conditioning to think that is the only way to have children. We currently live on a overpopulated planet, that honestly doesn’t need anymore babies added to it. There are so many children in need and if you have the means and so desperately want a child, why not include that in the conversation?
That is all. No one is shaming anyone. In fact it’s often us adoptee and adoptive parents that get the shame for not “trying”.
They should go for it if it’s what they want, but it would nice to for once see adoption mentioned in any of these celebrity quests for babies.
@Scotchy if that’s what you believe I’m not going to argue with you, but I still feel there is a tinge of shaming to some comments. I’m not putting down adoption, I think it is great and I have a lot of respect for adoptive parents. But not everyone is necessarily fit to be an adoptive parents, just as some people are not fit to be parents period. That doesn’t make them bad people. Some people are only interested in having biological children and aren’t interested adopting for whatever reason, personal or otherwise. I think it’s better to be honest about that then jump into an adoption your not enthusiastic about.
the only people who should be adopting are people who WANT to adopt. We don’t want people half-heatedly going into something like that because they feel pressure from society.
This whole story makes me roll my eyes and I don’t even know why. Gwen annoys me. I used to be a big fan of her as a person, her music her clothes but after her and Gavin split she just started annoying the crap out of me. The thirsty pap strolls, the gushing grossness of her romance with Blake, all of it.
I totally agree with you! I’ve been a fan for many years and now I can’t stand her as a celebrity. So thirsty!
It seems like overcompensating, and that is why people think it is a friendship not so much a romantic thing. They are so gushy it is eye-rolly.
My husband and I met in later life and have been together ten years. We still pda as much as they do. It doesn’t say one thing or another, and like us may just be the way that they roll…
This might come across as concern trolling, but Gwen seems to put up with a lot and try a little too hard. It could be my biases about and older woman dating someone younger, but I am afraid she is feeling pressure to give him a child to keep him and it just seems unlikely.
This is the feeling I get. I have a friend in a very similar situation to Gwen (if this story is true), and it bugs me. I feel it’s selfish in the man’s part. Go find a woman who can give you a child without turning her whole life upside down.
That he’s only forty was a surprise to me, I thought he was around 52 or so.
I don’t believe for a second Halle Berry naturally conceived her youngest. I don’t even think she naturally conceived her oldest either.
Oh please!! It’s not the 50’s or even the 70’s anymore where people are aging faster than their chronological age. I know many people in their mid to late 40’s and early 50’s who take great care of themselves and are much more healthier than generations before them. I know people at 38 who had a heart attacks due to diet and a couple people at 44 getting hip replacements because they just didn’t take care of themselves. It’s a matter of how well you take care of yourself. You can be an active 80 year old or a bedridden 38 year old due to obesity and diabetes.
The generations now having children late in age will very well live an active healthy life into their 90’s. People need to stop comparing older generations to the ones now. It’s not the same.
” It’s a matter of how well you take care of yourself. ”
Somewhat, sure. But ultimately it’s often just as much if not more a matter of genetics. You can take the best care of yourself possible and have a predisposition to any number of things. My grandmother had her first (of 3) hip replacement in her 50’s – because she had a bad fall while trying to replace a light fixture while on a ladder. She’s turning 92 in about two weeks. You can take great care of yourself and it doesn’t magically make you immune to auto immune diseases, cancers, etc. On top of that – older generations were a heck of a lot more active than the current younger ones. They sat less, walked more, ate REAL food. There are plenty of studies showing that younger generations are unhealthier than their counterparts.
Agree with you. I’m sick of how people are constantly pushed to go to the gym as if that was the miracle cure to everything. Tired of “fitness” and diets and crap.
I’m almost 50 and tried to take care of myself. Unfortunately sometimes stuff happens that is out of your reach of control. My mom suddenly got RA and now it’s been a few years and I’m showing symptoms. You just don’t know.
“It’s a decision every person/couple has to make for themselves, but why does it feel like adoption isn’t part of their conversation?”
It doesn’t have to be part of anyone’s conversation. We shouldn’t criticize them for their choices. Adoption is great, but it’s not for everyone, and no one should be made to feel guilty for wanting biological children.
Both actresses Adrienne Barbeaux and Beverly D’Angelo conceived and gave birth to twins at age 50 so anything is possible
Take this for what it’s worth but I seem to recall numerous blind items saying her kids are raised by nannies and she’s notorious for having drivers drop her and the kids off at locations for pap strolls and then getting into a car immediately and leaving. Not sure I’d call that baby-oriented.
Further conclusion: imagine bringing life into this world to legitimize your PR relationship and careers and still no one cares that you’re together or that you’re doing a Christmas album. I’m out of this gossip until there’s a juicy break up.
She’s said interviews that Apollo was unexpected so she wasn’t actively trying for another baby 3 years ago – you could read into that that trying for another now isn’t because her dream was to have 4 kids but that Blake wants one (stepsons must not be enough shocking) and she wants what he wants. She does seem like that kind of person.
I got pregnant at 40.
I’d just retired from the military and was staying home with our daughter for a while.
My husband was still active and traveling all the time.
We maybe had relations once every other month.
I had a miscarriage at 36 and we tried for a year but nothing and I thought, “Well, I’m lucky to have an awesome son and daughter.”
Then, I was getting the house all clean and in order and was going through a bathroom cabinet and came upon a box of tampons and thought, “Huh. I haven’t used these in awhile.”
I thought I was starting menopause but just to be sure, I stopped at the Rite-Aid and got an EPT and it took about one second for it to show bright positive.
I was scared to death thinking of another miscarriage, D&C, Down Syndrome…
I took the stick to my husband and I was shaking and he said I looked like a deer in the headlights but he just smiled huge.
She’s fine! She’s great.
I had every test I could get just to try and prepare myself or feel better and everything was fine. She’s a smart, beautiful, sweet, straight-A kid so it CAN happen without help.
I’m not saying I’d recommend it.
Like Gwen, I was in fabulous condition at the time. That helps.
Unlike Gwen, I didn’t have a staff or Nannies but I was able to finally stay at home with the kids.
She’ll be fine.
Interesting to see how this relationship will play out in the next few years. Not sure if the whole comparison to Miranda was Blake’s PR wording or US Weekly but no need to basically make it seem like with Gwen their relationship is perfection. History has shown this come back in your face ask Ben Affleck, Brad Pitt. If Blake is extremely happy then just live your life without jabs at the Ex. Plus Blake’s track record is pretty bad with women I wouldn’t depend on his words too much if I were Gwen. He might be all fun and giggles but when he is through he ain’t looking back.
Yeah and maybe she doesn’t care.
MAYBE she’s just thinking she loves this man and she wants one more baby before it’s too late and it will be a pretty good-lookin’, talented kid and daddy has money.
I don’t know. I’m just kind of guessing.
I just don’t like them and how they try to sell their relationship. Maybe it’s real, maybe it’s fake, but I have a feeling that it is going to be heavily exploited to sell Gwen’s “holiday” album.
For some reason, I really want to root for Gwen. I feel like she let herself get walked all over in previous relationships and could stand to work on her self-esteem. But if she’s happy with Blake then I can completely see wanting to add to her family with him. I’m 40 and married for the second time this year after a lousy marriage to an alcoholic. I was totally fine with my one kiddo whom I adore, but meeting my husband made me want to try for a baby with him. Happily, despite my age, it only took two months of trying and we’re expecting a baby in April. I’ll admit that I’m much more tired this time and nervous about handling the sleep deprivation. If I were 8 years older I’m not sure I’d have been up for it. But I wish Gwen the best and hope they get what they want.
Awwww!
Babies are Nature’s way of saying, “You’ve been getting way too much sleep.”
Sleep when the baby sleeps. Nap when the baby naps.
OMG Im so tired of talking about fertility
Correction: His romance with Gwen was a factor in his split with Miranda.
Adoption is not an alternative to “natural” pregnancy. Adoption of children is a complex, difficult, and expensive matter. It requires a helluva lot more preparedness and commitment than conceiving naturally. Adoption shouldn’t be taken lightly. It’s nothing (or at least not much) to do with money: If you aren’t *definitely* sure you want to be a parent, don’t have kids – and definitely don’t adopt. Don’t treat it like a glib matter. It is NOT the same as getting pregnant. You are choosing to take on someone whose parents did not, or could not, care for them. It’s not an alternative to natural pregnancy – it is a choice to be made by those serious enough to be good parents.
It will require IVF with donor eggs. I really hate when people with no knowledge of infertility try to make it seem like a 48 year old woman will need just a little help from an IVF doctor. She’s going to need A LOT of help. Yeah, everyone knows someone whose mother’s cousin’s boyfriend’s sister’s niece had a baby naturally at 48. That’s just not to be expected and is a rarity.
I bet it’s Shelton who wants the bio kid because men seem less interested in adoption than women, generally.
My mom had her last kid at 45, (naturally- she was actually almost 46 when gave birth) and I’ve known quite a few women that had kids between 45-47 with no help. They were big family types and a lot of them have their last kids in their forties. But, 48 Is indeed rare!
I wish them luck though! Gwen is extremely healthy for her age and she did have a kid at 44. I hope it happens for her, if she’s using medical help I think she has a shot.