A Christmas season miracle. Friday Night Lights alum Zach Gilford and Kingdom actress Kiele Sanchez have welcomed their first child together, Us Weekly confirms.
Zeppelin Adele Gilford was born via surrogate on Wednesday, November 29, in Los Angeles. The couple, who met in 2010 on the set of the ABC pilot The Matadors and tied the knot in December 2012, chose the name Adele for Gilford’s grandmother.
As previously reported, Sanchez suffered a late-term miscarriage in October 2015.
“We regretfully confirm that Zach Gilford and Kiele Sanchez recently lost their child to a late-term miscarriage,” the couple’s rep told Us in a statement at the time. “No additional details will be made available. We thank everyone in advance for their sensitivity and discretion during this difficult time.”
The 40-year-old actress opened up about her loss and returning to work on the DirecTV/Audience series Kingdom in an emotional guest column for The Hollywood Reporter in July 2016.
“It was a few weeks after losing my pregnancy. A few weeks after giving birth to him. My son, Winter,” Sanchez wrote at the time. “I was in New York and was supposed to start shooting the next season of Kingdom in a few weeks. I couldn’t imagine it. The amount of pain I felt consumed me. Every day it bit at me. Chewed on me. Swallowed me. I felt heavy and hollow … We had filmed the last season with my character, Lisa, pregnant so she either has the baby or she doesn’t. Both seemed merciless. I told him I’m at my lowest. I can’t imagine playing anything other than where I’m at. If I can turn this into … something. He asked if I was sure and I said let’s lean in.”
Sanchez’s Kingdom character, Lisa, ended up having a miscarriage like Sanchez.
“It ended up being cathartic. A word I never really knew until now,” she wrote. “I have so much pride that we didn’t shy away. That we created something that speaks to suffering that for some reason lives in shadows. I am grateful that I was put in a position that I did not have the option to hide. I’m glad that we leaned in. Went into the humanity of heartbreak.”
