Sherri Shepherd, host of The View, reported to have abandoned plans to raise newborn surrogate baby
THE actor and co-host of The View was expecting a surrogate baby with her husband — then they split up. What’s happening to the newborn child now?
DID American actor and talk show co-host Sherri Shepherd skip out on the birth of her own surrogate baby?
In a week that’s seen concerns regarding surrogacy in the international spotlight, The View co-host’s own surrogacy journey has allegedly taken another odd turn, as TMZ reports she was not present at the birth of her surrogate son.
Shepherd and husband Lamar Sally filed for divorce on May 2 after nearly three years of marriage. With the couple’s surrogate baby already on the way, media outlets reported at the time that Sally would file for full custody of the unborn child.
He was reportedly asking for spousal support from his ex and looking to limit her to visitation rights.
Shepherd, 47, and Sally tied the knot in August 2011 and first revealed they planned to have a surrogate baby more than two years ago.
Shepherd has no genetic connection to the child, who was conceived through IVF with an egg donor and her estranged husband’s sperm.
Since the couple split, rumours have swirled that Shepherd no longer planned to take care of the unborn baby.
TMZ reported that Shepherd “wants a clean break from Lamar and the kid,” and that the 30 Rock actress “believes Lamar defrauded her into signing on with the surrogate, claiming he always planned to leave her and this was just a transparent ploy to get child support.”
Shepherd is in the midst of a career upheaval right now: she will end her seven-year stint co-hosting talk show The View on Friday, and will then move to theatre, where she’s landed the role of the wicked stepmother in a new Broadway staging of Cinderella.
As news surfaced that Shepherd hadn’t been present for the birth in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, the usually outspoken star remained silent in public — save for one not-entirely-cryptic Instagram post.
“Smiling will always be the best medicine, silence will always be the best revenge and Love will always be all you need #unknown — your strength is in your smile!” she told her followers, sharing a picture of her grinning self.