Kristen Wiig and her husband Avi Rothman had a difficult road to parenthood, with failed attempts at in-vitro fertilization before turning to surrogacy. The couple had their twins Shiloh and Luna in January of 2020, but before that Wiig tried to carry the children herself via IVF. She has opened up about the experience in a few interviews now, telling The Hollywood Reporter back in March that IVF “was such a struggle.”
“When you go through it, you meet other people who are going through it, and it’s almost like this secret little – the whispering conversation at a party,” said Wiig, who is now 50 years old. “It feels like not a lot of people talk about it. It is such a private thing, but maybe it doesn’t have to be. It’s part of my story and part of how I got my amazing family.”
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Wiig – best known for her tenure on Saturday Night Live – began dating Rothaman in 2016. They became engaged in 2019 and got married privately at some point, as Wiig revealed in February of 2021. Wiig was previously married to actor Hayes Hargrove, and dated the drummer of The Strokes, Fabrizio Morettie for several years. Rothman, meanwhile, is also a comedian with a background in improv and sketches, notably training at the Groundlings theater in Los Angeles.
Wiig revealed in 2020 that she and Rothman had gone through multiple rounds of IVF over the course of three years. She told InStyle: “Emotionally, spiritually, and medically, it was probably the most difficult time in my life. I wasn’t myself. There are so many emotions that go with it – you’re always waiting by the phone and getting test results, and it was just bad news after bad news. Occasionally there would be a good month, but then it was just more bad news. There was a lot of stress and heartache.”
Wiig said that she has tried to keep her experience private as much as possible, intending to shield her kids from the press and the spotlight. However, she acknowledged that speaking out can be extremely helpful to others, saying: “What helped me was reading about other women who went through it and talking to those who have gone through IVF and fertility stuff. It can be the most isolating experience. But I’m trying to find that space where I can keep my privacy and also be there for someone else who may be going through it.”
