In June 2023, Maria Menounos welcomed her daughter, Athena Alexandra, to the world—and to say that she's enjoying motherhood would be an understatement.
PureWow had the pleasure of sitting down with the TV personality, 45, to discuss parenting and her mission to help others heal through her new partnership with RXBar. While opening up about her journey, she revealed how becoming a mom has helped her find happiness.
"I feel like I know my priorities now," Menounos said. "I finally know where I belong. I was chasing something I didn't know was missing for so long. And now, like on a Saturday I'll have put her down to sleep and I'll forget that I have her. I'd think 'Oh, maybe I'll go... Oh, no, I don't need to go there. Oh my God. I'm so happy here.'"
She added, "I used to have to leave. I was trying to find joy in other places. And she's just brought all of it to us, so I know where I belong. I know that she's what matters most in life. Obviously, my husband and my dad and the dogs and everybody too. But she's really my goalpost every single day."
The TV presenter, who shares her 2-month-old with her husband, Keven Undergaro, also said the love she has for her daughter is "hard to explain." She told us, "I think the most surprising [thing about motherhood] is just having this human looking at you...She's just looking at us and we're here to guide her on her journey, and she loves us and we love her and it's pure. It's just pure madness. There's so much joy in our homes. We're just so happy and so blessed."
Menounos confessed that now, she doesn't want to leave her daughter's side—and it's a feeling she definitely didn't expect. "I don't know, I just want to be Scotch taped to her," she said. "I don't want to be away from her, and I think that's also surprising."
"A friend of mine asked me, he goes, 'I'm so curious if you're gonna want to work more, or if you're gonna want to work less.' And I was like 'Both!' Because I was like, 'I want to make money for her.' But no, I really just want to be with her constantly. I just love her so much. It's like I didn't even know what this love was."
Understandably, since becoming a mom, Menounos has been more intentional about supporting her family. She told us, "I want to be present for my family. I have a newborn baby, and I want to make sure that I'm reminded that when I'm feeding her, I'm not multitasking with my phone. I want to be present with her."
With regards to her partnership, the star mentioned that she's committed to "helping people get on their manifesting journeys" through customizable ManifX bars, where people can jot down their daily goals.
She said, "This collaboration with RXBar was such a perfect fit because they have their no BS approach to their ingredients, health and wellness. It's such a match with everything that I live for every single day."
We're excited to see what the next chapter brings for Menounos and her family.
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