Maria Taylor became a mom!
The NBC Sports reporter, 36, gave birth to her first child — a boy named Roman Ryan Taylor Hemphill — with husband Jon Hemphill, PEOPLE exclusively reveals.
Roman was born on December 24 at 7:26 p.m., weighing 2 kg. and 13 oz. The newborn was 21 inches long.
“My path to motherhood was not a straight line. It was long and hard, and there were a few times I thought I would never be a mom,” Taylor tells PEOPLE. “But when my son was placed on my chest, our hearts were filled with love and gratitude.”
“I knew right away that I had given birth to my soulmate,” adds the sportscaster, who previously worked for ESPN and the SEC Network.
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Maria Taylor welcomed a baby boy.
Bella Baby Photography
Famous babies born in 2023
Taylor first revealed her exciting pregnancy news in an Instagram post in July. She then shared pictures from the shoot with Hemphill, in which they posed with the sonogram outdoors.
“The last 3 years have been some of the most physically, mentally and emotionally challenging years of my life,” Taylor began the caption of her post, going on to detail how her journey to becoming a mom “has been diverted by surgeries, multiple egg retrievals, and failed IVF cycles.”
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Maria Taylor welcomed a baby boy.
Bella Baby Photography
“There were moments when I felt like my body was betraying me, that God didn’t want me to become a mom and that ultimately I didn’t deserve to be a mom. There were moments when I could only cry and ask ‘Why?’ ” she continued. “There were times when I felt like giving up. But it was put on my heart to keep trying and to never let the dream of becoming a mother go.”
“For every setback, my husband was there reminding me to keep the faith. My friends and family held my hand and lifted me up as I traveled the country to meetings,” Taylor added. “It’s still crazy to think that just one year ago I entered the NFL season with the news of a failed embryo transfer. Another hope dashed. And now this fall I enter a new season carrying the greatest gift of all. Our sweet prince is about to arrive and I can’t wait to be his mom! 💙.”
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Maria Taylor welcomed a baby boy.
Bella Baby Photography
Who’s next? Celebrities who are expecting
In the months that followed, Taylor shared a variety of photos and videos on Instagram, showing off her growing baby bump.
“Baby’s 1st Renaissance 🐝,” she captioned a picture of herself rubbing her belly while attending Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour in Atlanta, Georgia, in August.
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Maria Taylor welcomed a baby boy.
Bella Baby Photography
“Celebrating NFL Kickoff with my franchise player in the making 😊,” Taylor captioned a photo of herself on an NFL field a month later.
In another picture, the then-mom documented how her baby was the size of a soccer ball at 23 weeks.
A day before giving birth, Taylor shared a festive post in which she posed with family members in matching white outfits. “Happy holidays from our family to yours ❤️✨,” she wrote in the description.
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Source: HIS Education