Paris Hilton says using surrogacy was a ‘difficult decision to make’

Hilton and husband Carter Reum announced arrival of daughter London on 23 November

Paris Hilton has opened up about her decision to welcome her children via surrogacy.

The reality TV star, 41, recently admitted that it wasn’t an easy decision to use a surrogate for the birth of her now 10-month-old son, Phoenix Barron. “Surrogacy was a difficult decision to make,” Hilton said during the season two premiere of Paris In Love, which hit Peacock on 30 November.

"I would have loved that experience of growing the baby in your tummy and feeling the kicks and all of those exciting moments, but my life has just been so public,” she explained. “So even though the baby is biologically mine and Carter’s, we decided to have a surrogate carry him.”

Hilton, whose life in the spotlight has been highly publicised since the early 2000s, ultimately came to the decision out of her concern for both her and her baby’s safety. In a confessional, her husband Carter Reum echoed those concerns as he spoke about their future plans for their family.

"Now having a family with Paris, we want our family to grow up and be normal and not always be known as Paris Hilton’s children," he said. “We have to think about safety. When we go to the farmer’s market, it’s one thing if someone stops and asks Paris for a photo. It’s a whole other thing with the baby in tow in a stroller.”

The 42-year-old venture capitalist continued: “I don’t think we know everything the journey’s gonna throw at us, but we’re just gonna tackle it as we go.”

Hilton and Reum - who tied the knot in November 2021 - surprised the world last January when they announced the birth of their first child together. “You are already loved beyond words,” she captioned the post, which showed her holding her son Phoenix’s hand. Just 10 months later, they welcomed their second child together - baby girl London. “Thankful for my baby girl,” Hilton wrote on Instagram, showing a photo of a pink pajama set with the name “London” inscribed on the collared top.

Because the DJ opted to use a surrogate to welcome her children, she was able to keep their birth a secret from not only her team of staff, but also her family. “Not even my mom, my sisters, my best friend knew until he was over a week old,” Hilton explained on her iHeartRadio podcast, This Is Paris. “It was really nice to have that with Carter, be our own journey together. I just feel like my life has been so public, and I’ve never really had anything be just mine.”

In a preview clip for Paris in Love season two released earlier this month, Hilton’s husband shared his thoughts on keeping the birth of their first baby to themselves. “I don’t think it ever hit me we weren’t going to tell anyone, that was really Paris,” he said in the teaser. “My initial inclination was to tell my family and get everyone excited, hers was to hold the secret.”

However, Reum admitted that he understood why Hilton was apprehensive about sharing Phoenix’s expected delivery date. “But she’s had to go through life having to protect herself, so I was gonna do everything I could to be a good teammate,” he said.

Much like the birth of her son Phoenix, Hilton also surprised her friends and family after welcoming her daughter London. “The only people who knew were obviously Carter, my mom, and my sister. But my parents didn’t know when it was happening, they just knew that it was going to happen,” Hilton said during an appearance on Today earlier this week. “It was the best Thanksgiving surprise ever for everybody.”

“I feel just so at peace, so happy, so grateful for my husband and this beautiful family and life that we’re building together,” she added. “I couldn’t imagine anything else. I’m just over the moon with everything.”