Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Entertainment
Ekin Karasin

Lily Collins and Charlie McDowell cradle their baby after blasting surrogacy criticism

Lily Collins and her husband Charlie McDowell shared sweet photos with their baby daughter, Tove, after blasting “unkind” comments about their surrogacy.

The Emily In Paris star, 35, and filmmaker, 41, welcomed their first child together via a surrogate on January 31.

McDowell later hit out at cruel trolls who criticised them for using a surrogate and urged his followers not to “spew hateful words”.

Almost a week after welcoming their baby, Collins and McDowell proved they were adjusting well to parenthood as they shared photos of themselves cradling their daughter on Instagram.

McDowell was first to post a photo of himself sitting on a brown sofa, gently holding up Tove’s arms as she lay on his lap.

“Dad mode,” the director captioned the post alongside a love heart emoji on Thursday. Collins was quick to comment: “Love you so much.”

McDowell also reassured fans that he and Collins are still giving their dog Redford plenty of attention.

He shared a cute selfie with the pooch sleeping in his arms on his Instagram Story and wrote: “And Redford is still very spoiled.”

Collins then posted her own photo with Tove which showed her carrying the newborn in her arms, writing: “Mom mode...”

The actress, who is the daughter of musician Phil Collins, announced Tove’s birth on Instagram with a photo of the newborn lying in a cot with her name embroidered on it.

Collins wrote: “Welcome to the centre of our world Tove Jane McDowell.

“Words will never express our endless gratitude for our incredible surrogate and everyone who helped us along the way. We love you to the moon and back again.”

In the comments, McDowell blasted people criticising their use of surrogacy – when a woman carries a baby for someone else.

“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,” he wrote.

“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.

“That’s all for now because she just pooped and I need to change her diaper.”

The pair were congratulated by famous faces including The Vampire Diaries star Nina Dobrev, who posted a white heart and two crying emojis, Mamma Mia! actress Amanda Seyfried and singer Jessie Ware.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.