The couple’s celebrity friends shared their congratulations, with Collins' Emily in Paris costar Ashley Park writing, “Mom and dadddddd”, and Sofia Richie Grainge writing, “Love you all so much! Congratulations.”
Fans also shared their congratulations, with many expressing surprise at the news,
However, some chose to criticise the couple for welcoming a child via a surrogate, calling it “unethical”.
“You bought a baby,” one commented, while another accused them of being “rich people renting women’s bodies”.
“Adoption literally exists,” another wrote.
McDowell then responded to the comments, writing underneath his wife’s post, “In regards to the unkind messages about surrogacy and our path to having a baby - it’s ok to not be an expert on surrogacy.
“It’s ok to not know why someone might need a surrogate to have a child. It’s ok to not know the motivations of a surrogate regardless of what you assume. And it’s ok to spend less time spewing hateful words into the world, especially in regards to a beautiful baby girl who has brought a lot of love into people’s lives.”
He concluded by writing, “That’s all for now because she just pooped and I need to change her diaper.”
The couple did not share their reasons for using a surrogate, though Collins has previously opened up about her fears surrounding fertility after experiencing an eating disorder.
“I was terrified I had ruined my chances of having kids,” she wrote in her 2017 memoir Unfiltered: No Shame, No Regrets, Just Me, Lily.
Many other A-listers have chosen the same path, including Kim Kardashian, who welcomed her two youngest children Chicago and Psalm via surrogate due to “medical necessity”.
Amber Heard became a mother to her daughter Oonagh through a surrogate in 2021 after doctors told her she would never be able to carry a child.
Collins and McDowell began dating after meeting on the set of McDowell’s film Gilded Rage and married in September 2021.
