Worth the wait. Katie Lee gave birth on Wednesday, September 2, to her and husband Ryan Biegel’s first child.
“Welcome, baby Iris Marion Biegel,” the Food Network star, 38, captioned their daughter’s Instagram debut on Thursday, September 3. “Our hearts are so full.”
Lee announced in February that she was pregnant. “Eating for two,” she captioned her baby bump debut via Instagram at the time. “Baby Biegel is on the way!”
In the social media upload, the Summer Cookbook author ate a bowl of spaghetti with her shirt pulled up to show off her bare budding belly.
The announcement came four months after the West Virginia native told Us Weekly exclusively that she and Biegel were “still” struggling to conceive.
“There are so many women who go through this and just kind of keep it to themselves,” Lee told Us in October 2019. “I’ve had so many of them reach out to me through social media and hearing other people’s stories and sharing your stories is a way for women to [find] comfort together. My heart just goes out to anybody who’s going through that.”
The Beach Bites With Katie Lee author first opened up about her infertility battle in April 2019, writing via Instagram: “When Ryan and I got married, our plan was to start a family right away. I couldn’t wait to get pregnant! I naively thought it would be easy. I had to have surgery to correct a problem, got an infection, then I was so run down I got shingles. My doctor advised us to try IVF. We just finished the intense process only to get zero healthy embryos. Not only is IVF physically exhausting, the emotional toll is unparalleled. We were filled with hope and excitement only to be crushed.”
It “hurt” the chef to be asked whether she was pregnant during this time, she went on to write.
“When they say I look like I’ve gained weight, I have,” Lee explained at the time. “I can’t exercise as much and the hormones have made me bloated. I know a family will happen for us, it is just going to be a different journey than we imagined. We will keep working towards it. Someday we will have our happy new beginning and I pray any of you experiencing the same will have yours too.”
The Kitchen cohost and Biegel tied the knot in September 2018. Lee was previously married to Billy Joel from 2004 to 2010.
