Celebrity friends have rushed to congratulate Australian star Rebel Wilson – as more details emerge about the surprise birth of the actress’s baby daughter.
Thor director Taika Waititi, comedians Celeste Barber and Cal Wilson and Hidden Figures actress Octavia Spencer were among those to post congratulatory messages on Tuesday.
Australian tennis broadcaster, player and friend Rennae Stubbs, who is regularly spotted with Wilson at the grand slams, wrote: “She’s soooo [sic] gorgeous, just like you Rebs. Auntie Nae Nae can’t wait to meet her in person”.
Wilson, 42, announced the birth of baby Royce Lillian on Tuesday morning. Wilson thanked her “gorgeous surrogate” for helping her start her own family.
“I can’t even describe the love I have for her, she’s a beautiful miracle!,” she told her 11 million Instagram followers in a surprise announcement.
“I am forever grateful to everyone who has been involved, (you know who you are), this has been years in the making … but particularly wanted to thank my gorgeous surrogate who carried her and birthed her with such grace and care.
Wilson who revealed in June she was in a relationship with fashion and jewellery designer Ramona Agruma, has shared her fertility journey in recent years, including her desire to have her own family and her “year of health” in 2020.
Agruma shared photos of Wilson and her Pitch Perfect co-stars at the Australian star’s baby shower at her Los Angeles home in October.
Wilson was threatened with being outed by the Sydney Morning Herald in June, choosing instead to reveal her relationship with Agruma in another Instagram post. She said she thought she was searching for a “Disney Prince”, but “maybe what I really needed all this time was a Disney Princess”.
After the announcement about baby Royce’s birth on Tuesday, some friends wrote that they couldn’t wait to take “this little princess” to Disneyland.
Over the past seven months, Wilson and Agruma have shared their relationship online, showing snaps of a European holiday, bathing in hot springs in Iceland, horse-riding, helicopter flights and attending opening night parties.
Last week, Wilson addressed being publicly outed after an Australian Press Council ruling.
“Just seeing the news that the Australian Press Council has condemned the Sydney Morning Herald and their journalists for their recent grubby behaviour in trying to out my same-sex relationship.
“Their actions did cause Ramona and I a lot of distress,” she wrote.
“So many options with surrogacy and sperm donors’
Wilson also opened up about her fertility struggles in a People magazine interview in May, sharing details of a confronting 2019 visit to a doctor.
“He looked me up and down and said, ‘You’d do much better if you were healthier’,” she said.
“I was taken aback. I thought, ‘Oh God, this’s guy’s so rude’. He was right. I was carrying around a lot of excess weight.
“It’s almost like I didn’t think of my own needs. I thought of a future child’s needs that really inspired me to get healthier.”
She revealed she had polycystic ovarian syndrome which can affect fertility, and eventually lost more than 36 kilograms: “It wasn’t a goal to get to a certain weight … It was just being the healthiest version of myself”.
“If I meet the right person, great, and then they can fit in with whatever happens. It’s great that the technology exists … You have so many options with surrogacy and sperm donors.
“I only started thinking of fertility when I was 39 so you feel quite late but then there are women in their mid-40s who’ve been successful.
“Look at Janet Jackson, it’s pretty inspiring.”
“Any woman who’s gone through it, I really relate to,” she said. “It’s been an emotional rollercoaster. I don’t know how it’s going to end. But I’m still young enough to try.”
Two years ago, during an Instagram Live in December 2019, Wilson revealed she had her eggs frozen.
“As all good career women out there should know, if that’s something that interests you, it’s a pretty good time to do it,” she said.
“Getting to the 40s is kind of even leaving it a little too late. It’s better to do it a bit earlier if you can.”
Last week, engagement rumours circulated after she and Agruma shared a series of loved up photos during a trip to Disneyland.
“Thanks for the well wishes but we are not engaged!” Wilson responded.
