Supermodel Tyra Banks had a few humps in the road during her journey to motherhood. The 51-year-old conceived her only son through in vitro fertilization and recently opened up about her path to becoming a mom while co-hosting TODAY with Jenna & Friends on April 14.
“I remember being 24 years old and I was saying, ‘In three years, I’m going to have a child … and I kept putting my career first …. and then, it was almost too late,” Banks said during the show.
In addition to being a renowned model, Banks also had a thriving career as a host on America’s Next Top Model, which had 24 seasons. She started a family and had her son at the age of 42.
During the TODAY show, Banks reflected on a moment during her egg retrieval procedure where she shared a room with another woman also going through the process.
“So the doctor would say to me, ‘You got six eggs’ and then he would go to the next curtain, ‘You got 35 eggs,’” recalled Banks. “I’m like, ‘Really, can you just whisper this or write it on a sheet of paper?’ Because here I am, feeling so inadequate.
Although the process of conceiving was challenging, Banks is thankful that IVF was an option and in this instance, a portal to motherhood.
“IVF saved me and it was the last of my eggs … and so, I just made it and it is the most amazing thing,” she explained.
In some ways, the mom-of-one manifested her son as she prepared for his arrival before he was born.
“In my apartment here in New York, I made a tile in my son’s bedroom before he was even born,” Banks told Jenna. “It said, ‘Mommy already loves you.’ And so, when he comes to New York, he’s like, ‘Mommy, Mommy, you love me and I wasn’t even here. Tell me how much you wanted me.’”
York Banks Asla was born via surrogate in January 2016. Surrogates can become pregnant via IVF using eggs donated by a third party. The TV personality had her son with Norwegian photographer Erik Asla. The former couple began dating in 2013 and allegedly split peacefully in 2017.
