Maria Menounos Reveals Surrogacy Plans In Video Showing Mom’s COVID Battle: ‘We Signed Papers’

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Maria Menounos is planning to become a mom! The E! star, 42, has revealed she’s going through the surrogacy process with husband, Keven Undergaro, 53, in a new video. The longtime TV presenter shared a YouTube video on April 2, in which she recounted her parent’s tough battle with the coronavirus. In one clip, she attempted to raise her mother’s spirits by speaking about her surrogacy plans. Maria’s mom Lista, who was diagnosed with advanced brain cancer before she also tested positive for COVID-19, was seen by speaking to her daughter on FaceTime.

“[We] signed the papers the other day for the babies,” Maria said, adding, “they’re going to start the medication” on her surrogate “tomorrow.” In another clip, Maria tried to keep her mom in good spirits by “thinking of the future with grandchildren to come.” When asked if she was excited, Lista replied, “Very.”

Maria first hinted that she was expecting children on January 5 during an episode of her Better Together show. She also teased a possible move from Los Angeles to Nashville, Tennessee. “We are definitely entertaining this, by the way,” she said of the possible relocation. “It is beautiful, [and] we are going to have a family. We want to raise them somewhere where there will be kids next door to play with and you’re not afraid. L.A. just doesn’t have that.” Maria added that she and Keven were in the the “kid phase of [their] lives.” Nevertheless, she clarified to PEOPLE the following day that the pair weren’t expecting quite yet, but they were on their way to parenthood!

Fans of the E! News star know she actually teased the arrival of her little ones for the first time on the December 15 episode of Better Together. Maria got emotional while revealing that the promise of grandchildren helped her mother through her battle with stage 4 brain cancer. “The thing I keep saying to my mom is, ‘We’re going to get better every minute of every day, Mom. Every minute of every day we’re getting better and better.’ … That’s my mantra,” Maria explained. “Yesterday, I said to her, ‘You gotta get strong, you gotta hang on — you’ve got grandchildren coming, and they might even be showing up…’ well, they’re definitely showing up next year. I was gonna say around a certain time, but I won’t share yet because I don’t wanna.”