Elizabeth Banks and her husband, Max Handelman, are enjoying parenthood as the couple shares two sons, Felix and Magnus. Their children, who were born through gestational surrogacy, are twelve and eleven years old respectively.
The celebrity couple met on their first day of college at the University of Pennsylvania in 1992 and the lovers tied the knot in 2003 after over a decade of knowing each other. However, their marriage wasn’t all perfect at the beginning as they struggled with childbirth. After 8 miscarriages and 3 unsuccessful IVF treatments, the couple welcomed their first child Felix in March 2011 and had their second son, Magnus in November 2012.
When Did Elizabeth Banks Welcome Her Children?
In March 2011, the actress announced on her website that she and her husband had just welcomed the birth of their child, Felix, through gestational surrogacy. “Felix means ‘happy’ and ‘lucky’ in Latin,” she explained her son’s name. “And true to his name, Felix is a very happy baby and a blessing on our life.”
The couple became happy parents for the second time In November 2012 as she took to her website to announce the birth of their youngest son, Magnus. “Like Felix, Magnus was born via gestational surrogate,” Elizabeth wrote. “This experience has exceeded all expectations, taught us a great deal about generosity and gratitude, and established a relationship that will last a lifetime.”
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Elizabeth Banks Speaks Up On Her Journey Of Parenthood
Elizabeth revealed in an interview with People in 2013 that she was overwhelmed when she welcomed her second child but she adjusted so she can give her children the best care. “Two is very different from one. When you have one kid, you feel like you can jet set around and you can throw him on the hip and you get your life done,” she explained. “You don’t realize how easy one is until you have two. Now I’m really a mom. Oh, I am a mom now! This is for serious — I am responsible for two people now.”
“We had no help, no nannies, no babysitters. It was crazy,” she continued. “You forget how difficult it is to wake up in the middle of the night, how exhausting it is. I lost all my nails. I did dishes and cleaned bottles for 10 days, so I lost all those nails!”
Despite their busy schedule, the celebrity couple are committed and working hand in hand to build a family. “The last romantic thing Max did for me was taking the kids to soccer in the rain while I got a massage for my birthday,” she gushed to Closer in a March 2019 interview. “We have a good yin and yang, and a lot of mutual respect.”