Chrissy Teigen welcomes fourth child – how does surrogacy actually work?

The US model said she always dreamed of having four children.

Chrissy Teigen welcomes her fourth child (Alamy/PA)

Chrissy Teigen says her heart is “officially full” after welcoming her fourth child with John Legend via surrogate.

The US model thanked her surrogate, Alexandra, for the “incredible gift” as she announced the news on social media.

The couple’s baby boy is called Wren Alexander Stephens, in tribute to the surrogate.

In a lengthy post on Instagram, Teigen, 37, said she had “always wanted four children” and referenced the pregnancy loss she and Legend suffered in 2020 when they were expecting another son.

“After losing Jack, I didn’t think I’d be able to carry any more babies on my own,” she wrote. “In 2021, we reached out to a surrogacy agency, with our first correspondence inquiring about perhaps having two tandem surrogates, to each bring us a healthy baby boy or girl.”

At this time, Teigen said she had told Legend that she wanted to “try to carry just one more time” and they “restarted the IVF process” to conceive their daughter Esti, who was born in January.

The couple had also met Alexandra, who was “the most incredible, loving, compassionate surrogate we could ever imagine”, Teigen said.

But for anyone looking into surrogacy, how does it actually work?

Jemma Dally, a partner from the surrogacy, child protection and international childcare care department at Goodman Ray, explains what couples need to know about the process.

What are the different types of surrogacy?

Couples – known in legal terms as the ‘intended parents’ – might choose to use a surrogate if the woman is physically unable to carry a baby, or it would be dangerous for her to do so, or a male same-sex couple want a family. There are two types.

Firstly, ‘host’ or ‘gestational’ surrogacy is when the surrogate woman’s eggs are not used, and instead an embryo is transferred to the surrogate. The embryo may be created from the egg and sperm of the intended parents (so the child is 100% biologically related to them) or using either their egg or sperm, together with donor sperm or a donor egg.

Secondly, ‘traditional’ surrogacy is when the surrogate’s egg is used to conceive the child – and the sperm used is that of the intended father.

“It is not illegal for a surrogacy to happen where the egg and sperm are both from a donor. It is, however, not possible to obtain a ‘parental order’ [to ensure the child is legally theirs] unless at least one of the intended parents has a genetic connection to the child,” says Dally.

Is it legal to advertise for a surrogate?

“[In the UK] it’s a criminal offence to advertise that you are willing to enter into a surrogacy arrangement; looking for a woman to act as a surrogate mother; looking for people who want a surrogate to carry a child; and are able to negotiate or facilitate a surrogacy arrangement,” Dally says. “This applies to adverts in print, online, TV or radio.” That includes a post on social media.

It’s also illegal for a third party who receive payment, or expect to, for negotiating or facilitating the arrangement, but this doesn’t apply to non-profit organisations.

So how do couples find a surrogate? “Most people who arrange it in the UK will know their surrogate – a family member or close friend who has agreed to act as a surrogate for them,” says Dally. If they don’t know each other, it’s likely the parents have gone through a non-profit organisation.

Are couples allowed to pay a surrogate?

Dally says this is an area that’s often misunderstood. “The law allows intended parents to pay a UK surrogate ‘reasonable expenses’, but there’s no definition of what’s reasonable, and no fixed amount that a court would consider as reasonable.

“The issue of large payments usually comes up in international surrogacy arrangements.”

Who are the legal parents when the child is born?

“The surrogate will always be the child’s legal mother – regardless of whether her eggs are used to conceive the child or not,” says Dally.

Furthermore, if the surrogate is married or in a civil partnership at the time she starts to carry the child – her spouse will legally be the child’s second parent (unless they didn’t consent to the surrogacy).

She says if the surrogate is not married then there is a choice as to who the ‘second parent’ is – provided it was done through a licensed fertility clinic (if not, it will be the sperm donor) and a legal ‘parenthood’ form has been signed before conception.

“If no forms are completed and the surrogate is not married, then the intended father will be the second legal parent automatically, if he is the biological parent,” says Dally. “The legal mother, i.e. the surrogate, is responsible for registering the child’s birth.”

Can the surrogate change her mind after the birth?

Yes. “Surrogacy arrangements are not enforceable under UK law,” says Dally. “If one of the parties changes their mind, or the circumstances change, the arrangement is not legally binding. It doesn’t matter if it was set out in writing or not.

“So yes, this means that the surrogate could decide she wants to keep the baby, or have a role in the child’s life – whether the baby is biologically her child or not.

“It also means that the intended parents could walk away from the surrogacy arrangement, leaving their surrogate with a baby they did not want or expect to have responsibility for.”

How do the ‘intended parents’ become the ‘legal parents’?

To legally become parents of the baby, couples have to apply to the High Court for a ‘parental order’. “This transfers legal parenthood and parental responsibility from the surrogate (and her spouse/civil partner if relevant) to the intended parents,” says Dally.

There are several conditions that need to be met for the order to be granted including; it’s been made within six months of the birth (although usually the child will already be living with them), you permanently live in the UK and at least one of you is genetically related to the child.

Major reforms are being proposed, however, which may enable couples to become a surrogate child’s legal parents at birth.

For legal advice on surrogacy visit goodmanray.com