Erin Andrews on IVF and the Long Road to Her Son Mack

Summary

Podcast Summary: "Erin Andrews on IVF and the Long Road to Her Son Mack"

Podcast: The Parent Chat with Dylan Dreyer
Date: April 2, 2026
Host: Dylan Dreyer (TODAY)
Guest: Erin Andrews

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Episode Overview

This heartfelt episode of "The Parent Chat" centers on sportscaster Erin Andrews’ candid reflections on her journey to motherhood, which included multiple rounds of IVF, miscarriages, surrogacy, and the emotional roller coaster of infertility. Host Dylan Dreyer and Erin bond over the messiness—and joy—of parenting, the impossibility of “doing it all,” and the pressures placed on working mothers. Throughout, they offer relatable stories, emotional honesty, and support for parents experiencing similar struggles.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Joys and Surprises of Motherhood

[02:42]

• Erin shares her surprise at becoming “such a softie” and the emotional reactions parenting provokes, especially as her son Mac starts saying “mommy.”
  • Quote: “I didn’t think I would be such a softie, Dylan, but, yeah.” — Erin Andrews [03:01]
• Erin delights in sharing small, joyful moments: Mac playing “slug” every morning, demanding tickles and laughs.

2. The Challenges of Setting Boundaries with Toddlers

[03:58 – 07:51]

• Erin and Dylan exchange stories about enforcing rules with strong-willed toddlers, including power struggles over something as small as eating a green bean.
  • Quote: “He went to his room with the green bean in his mouth… for an hour… He did eventually eat the green bean, but it was—I don’t think it was worth it... except that I’m evil half the time.” — Dylan Dreyer [04:56]
• The conversation shifts into the difficulty of maintaining consistency among all caregivers, especially with changing routines while a parent is away for work.
  • Quote: “I went away for three days to work and I came back and we changed some things. So then I got frustrated. I’m like, wait a second, we’re changing the rules?” — Erin Andrews [05:58]
• Both acknowledge the struggle to avoid yelling or snapping when balancing the daily grind with evening parenting responsibilities.

3. Working Moms and Mom Guilt

[09:27 – 12:05]

• Erin expresses feeling “almost embarrassed” to admit she has a nanny, and both discuss the unrealistic expectation that mothers should “do it all.”
  • Quote: “It’s okay to admit you have help because it’s worse to paint this picture for people. Like, I’m doing it all. I can’t do it.” — Erin Andrews [11:08]
• Dylan and Erin explore the relief and new guilt that comes with children starting school and the relentless future-tripping parents experience.

4. The IVF Journey: Losses, Surrogacy, and Speaking Out

[12:34 – 16:46]

• Erin opens up about going through nine rounds of IVF and two miscarriages with her first surrogacy before finally having Mac.
  • Quote: “Maybe I wouldn’t say resentful. I just felt like nobody was public about how crappy that was… it is such a horrible, emotional roller coaster until you get what you want out of it.” — Erin Andrews [12:34 – 14:42]
• Erin’s decision to share her journey publicly was prompted by loneliness and the visibility of infertility in packed fertility clinics. She describes the positive response after writing about her experience.
• Dylan commends Erin’s honesty and shares her own struggles with secondary infertility, emphasizing the importance of advocating for one’s health.

5. The Pain and Processing of Loss

[16:46 – 21:37]

• Erin discusses learning to process loss and grief differently, expressing pride in handling her emotions better this time and crediting her husband for helping her grieve.
• Both women reflect on managing emotional pain privately because of their public roles and the relief that work can occasionally provide from grief.
  • Quote: “I’ve had to inject during halftime… I was like, there’s no way in hell I’m missing this Packers Cowboys game.” — Erin Andrews [17:16]
• Erin underscores the importance of talking openly with her husband, especially after their last failed surrogacy: “We were kind of talking about it again, and my husband goes, that really sucked. I’m like, oh my God. That was awful.” [19:50]

6. Humor and Light Moments Through Grief

[20:35 – 22:15]

• Erin shares a touching and funny anecdote of Mac mimicking her when she was crying, providing levity in the face of pain:
  • Quote: “I said, mackie, give me a hug. I’m really sad. And I was holding him and I was just crying. And he looked at me and he goes, aww… I was like, you’re mocking me.” — Erin Andrews [21:13]
• Discussion about the unpredictable behaviors of toddlers, like throwing things in restaurants, and the difference in raising boys versus girls.

7. Navigating Parenting in the Public Eye & Social Media

[24:28 – 26:05]

• Dylan and Erin touch on the tricky balance of sharing family moments on social media versus protecting their children’s privacy.
  • Quote: “Everybody has an opinion, so is it worth it? Probably not.” — Erin Andrews [25:02]
• Erin admits she seeks advice from other “boy moms” in real life more than from social media.

8. The Power of Sharing and Breaking Stigma

[26:25 – 28:44]

• Erin recounts how being open about both her cervical cancer and infertility created awareness and community support, encouraging others not to erect a “perfect” façade.
  • Quote: “A lot of people are going through stuff, you know?” — Erin Andrews [28:29]
• Dylan sums up that perfection is unrealistic and not helpful.

9. Looking to the Future

[28:48 – 29:55]

• Erin discusses her anxieties as Mac grows, her hopes for his school experience, and excitement to see what he thinks of his parents’ careers.
• Dylan reassures Erin that as challenging as the toddler years are, future stages bring new joys (and different challenges).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “I just want to handle it the right way….And now you’re telling me there’s no right way. So what are you doing?” — Erin Andrews [06:05]
• “There is nothing wrong with having a village to help you get it done.” — Dylan Dreyer [10:57]
• “It became cervical cancer awareness… I was like, wow, I did some good sharing that information. Then I decided to be open about our infertility and how much we’d gone through…. I just want to be real with people because a lot of people are going through stuff.” — Erin Andrews [26:25–28:29]
• “It’s exhausting to put the wall up all the time.” — Erin Andrews [28:31]

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Important Timestamps

• [02:42] — Erin on the surprise of softening as a mom
• [03:58] — The “tornado” stage of toddlerhood begins
• [04:56] — Dylan’s green bean standoff and parental consistency
• [12:34] — Erin’s IVF journey and the pain of loss
• [14:42] — The loneliness and stigma of infertility
• [17:16] — Working through grief and professional demands
• [19:50] — Communicating as a couple through loss
• [21:13] — Mac’s comic relief in the middle of tears
• [24:28] — Parenting in the public eye and on social media
• [26:25] — The impact of sharing struggles openly
• [28:48] — Erin's hope and excitement for her son's future

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Tone and Takeaways

The episode is candid, compassionate, and frequently humorous, without shying away from vulnerability and pain. Erin’s openness about her fertility journey, loss, and adjustments as a working mom resonates powerfully—reminding parents that the struggles are widespread and that asking for help is vital. Above all, the conversation celebrates resilience, honesty, and the ordinary magic of parenting in both its joys and heartbreaks.

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For parents—especially those facing fertility challenges, loss, or doubts about “doing it all”—this episode offers comfort, camaraderie, and hope.

Transcript

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[Erin Andrews]

I said, mackie, give me a hug. I'm really sad. And I was holding him and I was just crying and he looked at me and he goes, I was like, you're mocking me. Then I felt like Steel Magnolia. Do you have any idea what I did to my body for you?

[Dylan Dreyer]

Hi, everyone, and welcome back to another episode. I'm so excited about today's special guest, Erin Andrews. You know, we want to focus today on parenting and the roller coaster ride it is. And sometimes it's getting to parenting that's the roller coaster. One moment is filled with highs and hopes and dreams only to be let down with disappointment. And there's so many things that just make becoming a parent so difficult and so challenging for so many of us. Erin Andrews is somebody that I have admired for years. She's a broadcaster for the nsa, NFL. You've seen her on the sidelines at so many football games. And you know, she talks a lot about miscarriages and infertility, going through IVF time after time again, and eventually having her son, Mac, through surrogacy. And I am really looking forward to talking to Erin about her journey and to find out what she loves most about motherhood. It's so great to talk to you. I feel like also being a mom in this world of social media where you're working, you're traveling, you're trying to do it all, and somehow you do figure out how to do most of it. All right, but what is the best part to you of being a mom to Mac?

[Erin Andrews]

Well, it's amazing you said all those things because what I'm trying to Work on with myself is not. Think how much of a failure I am. And I've heard from multiple women, this is gonna happen forever. He just started saying, mommy. It went from mama, Mama, mama, to mommy, Mommy. And that gets me.

[Dylan Dreyer]

Yeah.

[Erin Andrews]

And I didn't think I would be such a softie, Dylan, but, yeah, I'm

[Dylan Dreyer]

not a softie either.

[Erin Andrews]

Oh, my God.

[Dylan Dreyer]

It takes a lot to make me cry. I'm not an emotional person, but when it comes to my kids, all of a sudden, this just. These different emotions just hit you every single day. Everything they do.

[Erin Andrews]

He's really big into. Like, he loves when he wakes up in the morning and after we get him all ready, he loves to run to the tv. And he lays there like a slug. As they say in A Christmas Story. He lays there and he wants you to, like, tickle him. And then I do the.

[Dylan Dreyer]

He, he.

[Erin Andrews]

And he starts laughing, and he's like, mommy, Mommy. And then I stop, and then he points. Cause he's like, do it again. He knows.

[Dylan Dreyer]

Yeah.

[Erin Andrews]

It's a crazy age at two, but it's also really, really fun when people say they can react and interact with you.

[Dylan Dreyer]

I notice I get emotional when I think about, oh, when Calvin was a little baby. And I loved when he was that age. But, like, I love him at this age now. Like, you think you're going to miss where they. But every day just gets better and better.

[Erin Andrews]

Yeah, it does. Although a lot of people said to me, when he hits two, you're gonna know. And holy cow, I did. Whoa, baby. And it just came like a tornado.

[Dylan Dreyer]

I noticed. It's like a. It's a defiance, you know, they're testing those boundaries. They're kind of pushing your limits, looking at you. When they do it, they know exactly what they're doing.

[Erin Andrews]

Yeah.

[Dylan Dreyer]

And for me, there have been times where Oliver needed to eat a green bean. Right? And he. I don't really care that much if you eat this green bean. I don't really love green beans either, but I made the statement, you can't leave the table until you eat that green bean. And now I have to stick to it, because otherwise everybody says if you pull back, they're gonna know that they could take advantage of you. I mean, so what kind of.

[Erin Andrews]

So I'm gonna ask you the questions. Welcome to my podcast. What do you do? You said, eat the green bean. Screaming ensues, and we're in our own home, so it's okay. What are we doing now? What if he is absolutely like, no, Mom, I'm not having the green bean. What? Tell me what to do.

[Dylan Dreyer]

It's hard because I again, don't care that much. He went to his room with the green bean in his mouth, kept his green bean in his mouth for an hour, and then eventually came down crying because he still had the green bean. And now it's just disgusting at this point, but I'm holding my ground. Like, I am not letting this go. Yeah, he did eventually eat the green bean, but it was. I don't think it was worth it because I don't know what lesson he learned from it, except that I'm evil half the time. I don't really know if I'm doing the right thing in all these situations.

[Erin Andrews]

That makes me feel better because that's where I am right now. It's really trying with my husband, myself. We have help because I wouldn't be able to have, you know, a job, multiple jobs without that. And I have found trying to. Let's all three figure out, well, four, how we want to do this? How do we handle him? And then, you know, I kind of came into a situation where I went away for three days to work and I came back and we changed some things. So then I got frustrated. I'm like, wait a second, we're changing the rules?

[Dylan Dreyer]

Yeah.

[Erin Andrews]

And I've noticed. Is this therapy? Am I going to lay on this couch?

[Dylan Dreyer]

It can't be if you want it to be. I need help, too.

[Erin Andrews]

I've noticed that my feelings about it is more like it's about myself. If. Am I handling this right? I know he's supposed to be acting like this because he's two. I just want to handle it the right way.

[Dylan Dreyer]

Yeah.

[Erin Andrews]

And now you're telling me there's no right way. So what are you doing?

[Dylan Dreyer]

I don't know if there's a right way. And I find half the time, especially as things happen later in the day, like the whole brushing your teeth before bed, that happens very late in the day when I've been up since 4 o' clock in the morning. And now I'm losing my patience. So I'm trying to balance all the load that I have every day from working all day, planning the meals, doing everything else around the house, and trying to be a calm mom in the evening. So I'm not snapping and I'm not yelling. But it's a tough balance.

[Erin Andrews]

How do you do it? What are you thinking to yourself when you feel like you're about to snap?

[Dylan Dreyer]

I try to take a breath. I try to just, like they'll see me take a breath where I'm like, guys, just make this easier for me.

[Erin Andrews]

Help me out here.

[Dylan Dreyer]

Like, the problem is all three of them are like, they're wild together. So then if one does something, and then Calvin's the one who typically follows the rules, but he'll egg everyone else on to make them do the bad things that he doesn't want to do. And, I mean, sometimes I just have to yell. Sometimes I have to say, guy. Like, I'm not gonna yell right now. Cause nobody wants to hear that. But, like, let's go. Like, you just. There has to be some rules. I feel like there has to be some strictness so that they know who's in charge. Otherwise, I mean, little do they know they could walk all over me and I will let them do whatever they want. But at some point, you have to take charge and be the one in control. More of the parent chat after the break.

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[Dylan Dreyer]

When people are meant for each other, they will always find a way back to each other.

[Erin Andrews]

Your favorite islander said. Goodbye, Fiji. Our lives have all changed.

[Craig Melvin]

We're all doing great things.

[Dylan Dreyer]

It's like we've known each other forever. And hello, real life. Everybody has this bad perception of me overnight.

[Erin Andrews]

Loser. You're such a loser. Get out.

[Dylan Dreyer]

And they're still standing on business. There's a lot of tea that I

[Erin Andrews]

need to tell you guys. I thought this was going to be drama. Free girl.

[Dylan Dreyer]

When is it every drama free Love island beyond the Villa new season premieres April15 only on Peacock.

[Erin Andrews]

I feel like an absolute even complaining to you because you have three and I have One.

[Dylan Dreyer]

It's all, it's all the same.

[Erin Andrews]

It's. That's what everyone tells me when I say that to them. And then I found myself the other day complaining to one of my good girlfriends and she's like, yeah, my kid's leaving home next month. And I was like, then you have no control over your kids. You know, that's a lot to deal with. But I think the part I'm navigating and you're a wonderful resource person to talk to is just, look, I do believe that. Listen, we should be able to have our jobs, be able to hold it down, be moms, be, you know, whatever we need to be in our home. But it's really, really hard. Yeah, really hard. And thank God, everybody else too.

[Dylan Dreyer]

I know. I think it's just hard for everybody. I read an article where you were quoted in it were saying, you know, it's almost embarrassing sometimes to admit that you have nanny.

[Erin Andrews]

Yeah, my baby nurse taught me that.

[Dylan Dreyer]

I mean, and it's wild because my oldest, we've had our nanny since he was three months old.

[Erin Andrews]

Sure.

[Dylan Dreyer]

Because I do work full time. Like you need. My parents don't live close. My mom's in Florida, my brother's in Oregon, My other brother's in Florida. My in laws are up in Boston. It's like it used to be where you lived in a community. You lived in a neighborhood where your family was close by and you had people that could watch your kids for you. Trust me, I would love to not have to pay somebody to help me watch my kids, but at the same time, I couldn't have the career I have. And I love my job. I've been doing it like half my life. I've been doing this job, you know, so.

[Erin Andrews]

And you should, you should be able to.

[Dylan Dreyer]

And I want my kids to see me working hard and making the sacrifices yet cooking dinner or doing what I can at home. But I do think it's. There's nothing wrong with having a village to help you get it done.

[Erin Andrews]

Yeah. My baby nurse, shout out to Nanny Connie. Love her so much. We had Mac after trying so hard. And then right away it was football season, it was time to go. And I was obviously doing. Being asked about having a baby and how do you do it and keep it all together? I'm like, I'm not. And Nanny Connie had said to me, it's okay to admit you have help because it's worse to paint this picture for people. Like, I'm doing it all. I can't do it.

[Dylan Dreyer]

All.

[Erin Andrews]

There's no way.

[Dylan Dreyer]

And nobody should think you are doing it all. Because then it's unrealistic expectations for the mom who's sitting there struggling. Totally. Because we're all struggling. You will notice once Matt goes to school, though, your life will. There's just this guilt that comes off of you. Cause it's like, he's at school. That's not my fault if I have to work, you know, during the day. I mean, for me, working late is till like, two, three in the afternoon. It's like they're still at school. So school helps a lot when it comes to mom guilt. I've noticed.

[Erin Andrews]

Good to hear. Except for my job is out of town. Right.

[Dylan Dreyer]

Right.

[Erin Andrews]

So then I'm going to miss pickups when he is sick or, you know, a school play. Look what I do. This is what I'm already anticipating.

[Dylan Dreyer]

Mel Robbins, you always thinking about the next thing. Our brains are always at work. I'm so grateful to you because you've been so open and honest about your whole infertility journey. Just your journey to get Mac into your lives using a surrogate. Why did you want to make sure everybody knows the journey you were on?

[Erin Andrews]

Yeah, I think I was tired. First of all, we had gone through IVF nine times. I had lost two babies with my first surrogacy. It just was so much loss and no reward, and nothing was going right. And maybe I wouldn't say resentful. I just felt like nobody was public about how crappy that was. And I would go to these fertility clinics, and the lobby's packed. Like there, it's standing room only. And you start thinking to yourself, okay, I'm not the only one dealing with this. This is really a problem. I remember being. I think it was probably my ninth retrieval, and I didn't get barely anything. And I remember, like, I could, at this point, put my legs in the stirrups, give myself the IV to go under, and roll myself into the room for the retrieval. I just knew the drill. I get it. I gotta go pee before I got it. You know, can't have a full bladder. Great. And then I remember hearing, you're separated by a sheet. You know, a lot of the times in these recovery rooms, and I remember hearing the nurse telling this girl who. It sounded like her first retrieval, hey, you know, you're gonna wake up, and there's small cramping, but you're gonna. Don't do anything all day. And I could hear her, like, you know, kind of getting emotional. And then I heard the nurse leave, and I was in the other room, and I go, it's gonna be okay. Like, this is the easiest part about it. You're probably gonna get a ton of eggs. Like, it's gonna be great. Enjoy being asleep for 20 minutes. It'll be the best sleep of your life.

[Dylan Dreyer]

Yeah.

[Erin Andrews]

And then I got approached by somebody to write an article, and I think we had just gotten bad news again for the ninth time. And I was like, you know what? I'm just gonna write that this is really, really hard, and you don't hear about it very often. And my husband was like, okay, do we have to tell everybody everything? Like, why do we. Can't we just keep this quiet? And it was one of the best things I ever did. The amount of support. And even people that were just like, thank you for doing this and saying this. I mean, I've been fitted for ski boots at a place, and a girl has been like, can I talk to you about surrogacy? I'm like, let me give you my girl's number that, you know, works the. I mean, why not?

[Dylan Dreyer]

Yeah.

[Erin Andrews]

It is such a horrible, emotional roller coaster until you get what you want out of it. Right. That it is such a lonely feeling, especially for the person. Yes. It's lonely for our partners, but it's worse for the person going through it because you feel like a failure. Right.

[Dylan Dreyer]

And on top of that, the roller coaster of emotions, I mean, the extreme happiness when you think this could be it. This is the time your hopes are so high, and then things go well until they don't.

[Erin Andrews]

Yeah. And we just dealt with that again. It's so crazy to be back here, because the last time I co hosted with Jenna, we were pregnant. Yeah. My journey to motherhood, it wasn't easy, but I realized the more I share, the more I'm able to help others out. And, like, it was going so well that I, like, had told Jenna, I said, hey, I hope to be back soon, because I got some good news. Like, I think one of the cats she had was even a name I was considering. Like, it was going that way that well. And my whole fear about doing it again after we had had Mac was like, we just experienced this high. I don't want to come back down. Right. And we came down, and it was so hard. And I'm. I'm proud of myself with how hard it was, because the first time we suffered loss, like, we had two miscarriages, I didn't allow myself to even deal. I was like, okay, I'm going to work were good. My husband was really good about grieving, and I didn't. And then I saw some signs like, a month later that I was not okay. And I just couldn't speak properly. I wasn't thinking right. One of my best friends is my manager, and she was just like, you need to go talk to someone. Like, you're not okay. So this time around, I'm trying to be really, really good about just, like, letting it out because it sucks. And, you know, we want to try again, but this is it for us. This is our last time we're going to be able to try. And I just don't want to deal with the loss again.

[Dylan Dreyer]

The emotional toll it takes. I mean, I remember when I had a miscarriage, the pain of it, you know, just like, going through the pain, but having to put a smile on your face because nobody wants to hear it.

[Erin Andrews]

Exactly.

[Dylan Dreyer]

You know, I mean, how much do you talk about it? I don't know. You know, like. And where do you talk about it? Who do you talk to? And it's. Our jobs are weird because you push down your emotions and you put a smile on your face and you talk about the topic you need to talk about. It can't be good for our mental health. I don't know.

[Erin Andrews]

It can't be.

[Dylan Dreyer]

But it also gives you a chance to compartmentalize, because otherwise you just want to sit in your grief. You can't get out. Like, I don't know how healthy it is, but I love coming to work even when I'm going through some of the hardest things, because this is my escape for a minute.

[Erin Andrews]

I've had to inject during halftime. I've had to come two days out of surgery having my cervix removed, but. But I was like, there's no way in hell I'm missing this Packers Cowboys game. Kind of thrive in those situations, you

[Dylan Dreyer]

know, I remember when I came out with my secondary infertility. I had my first with no problem, and then my second, it was very hard to have. It turned out there was a. Like, because of my C section, my uterus was half, like, scarred shut. Like, there was a medical reason, which is why I decided to come out and just, if something doesn't seem right, talk to your doctor. Find a doctor who's willing to do all the tests to figure out the situation and then take the steps that you need to. And there was a part of me worried that I would hear some backlash. You know, it's like, you already have one. How can you complain about, you know, not having a second because there are some people who can't have one.

[LinkedIn Hiring Pro Announcer]

Sure.

[Dylan Dreyer]

What's it like for you, you know, going through surrogacy a second time around when you have Mac at home? Do you approach it any differently?

[Erin Andrews]

I think that we knew it was stocked up against us. We really. The very first time we did it, we thought, oh, we're putting two in. We'll least get. We lost them both. I mean, we went into it so naive. Then we have Mac, and it's like, oh, my God, Thank God. Then we did it again, and we were kind of like, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. And then it was as cruel as it is. It was going so well. I mean, at one point, we even thought we were gonna have twins. Our numbers were so high. She was doing great. And then. Yeah, the heartbeat was so amazing, and it was like, oh, my God, this is happening. I'm gonna miss the Christmas game. Like, we're having this. We called our baby nurse, said, welcome back. And then it was nothing. It was so sudden. And so I think that was like, oh, my gosh, how cruel can this get? Like, just say it didn't take, you know?

[Dylan Dreyer]

I know.

[Erin Andrews]

So that was really hard. This next one, hey, I mean, we're gonna do it again, but, man, we. We just reached, like, so many emotions, you know?

[Dylan Dreyer]

How do you do it? Do you pray? Do you, like, what it. Like, how. How do you do it?

[Erin Andrews]

Superstition. We did a superstition this time around. It didn't really work, obviously.

[Dylan Dreyer]

Yeah.

[Erin Andrews]

I think you do anything you can to, like, hope, pray. I mean, let your surrogate know you're here for them. Thank you so much for being an angel and helping us. That was something that we had never dealt with either. Was a surrogate suffering such a loss. I mean, obviously we had the first time, but it was just so quick. This one was like, we had a minute. Leaning on each other. Leaning on your family.

[Dylan Dreyer]

So, yeah, as a couple, how do you lean on each other?

[Erin Andrews]

You know, like I said, the first time around, we didn't really know what we were in for this time. It's, like, a lot of talking. I wasn't good at vocalizing, being upset. I just watched my husband grieve. This time. I was like, I'm not doing well. Like, I'm really upset. We actually were out to dinner the other day, and we were kind of talking about it again, and my husband goes, that really sucked. I'm like, oh, my God. That was awful. Just Trying to be really, really present with each other and talk about feelings and everything.

[Dylan Dreyer]

Yeah. I remember when I was going through loss, Calvin was 2. And there's also that moment where you have to step back and be like, you know, I can't, I can't just be sad all the time. You know, like just you. Because he looks up to you and you're, you are just like the joy in Mac's life. Right.

[Erin Andrews]

You can always find humor in a lot of things. Right. Like, I remember a couple of days after I decided, okay, I gotta go work out, like I, I can't be sitting in my feelings right now. I voice noted my girlfriends as I was driving to the, to Barry's or something and Cry me a River was on. And I was like, okay, switch tears in heaven.

[Dylan Dreyer]

Come on.

[Erin Andrews]

I saw. I was like, you know what, this is ridiculous. Like, what about dancing on the ceiling or. And then the other one was, we went into Mac's room. I think it may be, I don't know, maybe it was like two nights after or something like that. And we were sitting around and we like to do family hug when we put him down, let's do a family hug. And he puts his arms around daddy and mommy. And I said, mackie, give me a hug. I'm really sad. And I was holding him and I was just crying. And he looked at me and he goes, I was like, you're mocking me. Then I felt like Steel Magnolias. Do you have any idea what I did to my body for you? Yeah. So now that's Mac's thing. When he wants to make me laugh, he goes, aww.

[Dylan Dreyer]

Isn't it amazing watching them insane figure out these little jokes, these little inside things that they. It's all an experiment. And all they want is your laugh and your smile and they just want to do everything to make you feel better.

[Erin Andrews]

Yes, but throwing the fork across the room does not make me feel better. And then looking at me and throwing to deal with like sippy cup, I'm like, are you okay?

[Dylan Dreyer]

The throwing things, bringing a toddler out to a restaurant.

[Erin Andrews]

How about the one where the 15 month old is sitting there across the way and my two year old sitting there and the 15 month olds is looking and just being so good and the mind throws the fork at her.

[Dylan Dreyer]

Yeah.

[Erin Andrews]

I'm like, hey, we don't even know these people.

[Dylan Dreyer]

I also feel like one's a boy, one's a girl. Hell yeah. Like girls are.

[Erin Andrews]

That was a girl.

[Dylan Dreyer]

I wouldn't know how to raise a girl. At this point because I only have boys. But. But I feel like boys test a little bit. Like boys are more difficult now and I hear girls get more difficult later.

[Erin Andrews]

Makes sense.

[Dylan Dreyer]

I honestly don't know.

[Erin Andrews]

I was difficult. Yeah, big time.

[Dylan Dreyer]

We'll be right back after the break.

[Carl Radke]

Hey, guys, I'm Carl Radke. You may know me from Bravo Summerhouse. I'm launching a new podcast called More Life. I want to learn from folks who are doing the work and from friends who've inspired me along the way. We'll talk the good, bad and the ugly, but most importantly, the healing, reinvention and self discovery. I definitely don't have it all figured out, but none of us really do. That's why we're here. Listen to More Life on Spotify, YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts. New episodes are out now.

[Craig Melvin]

I'm Craig Melvin. Cheers. Cheers.

[Erin Andrews]

Cheers.

[Craig Melvin]

I've always been a glass half full kind of guy, and now I'm talking to some people who look at the world that way too. Some really fascinating folks who share their defining moments, their triumphs, their challenges. Their stories are funny and quite candid. So I hope you'll join me each week. And who knows, you might just come away with your own glass half full.

[Erin Andrews]

Search Glass Half Full with Craig Milford From Today on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts.

[Willie Geist]

Hey guys, Willie Geist here. We're celebrating 10 years of Sunday today by hosting a very special Sunday sit down live event. And our guest is one of the biggest stars on the planet, Ryan Reynolds. We're taking our conversation to the stage in front of an audience of you for one night only at City Winery in New York on April 7th. An intimate in person evening I promise you won't want to miss. Tickets are limited, so grab yours [e-mail].

[Dylan Dreyer]

How do you manage being in the public eye? You know, especially on social media? I love when funny things happen. Like yesterday, I don't know why my 3 year old is watching Rocky, but Rocky was on and he's like, I've got like this video of him like just punching through the living room. He's kicking, he's punching. He's in his own little world, watches the scene, goes back to punching. And it's just the cutest thing. And a part of me has to hold myself back from posting it cause I'm like, I can't put everything my kid does out there. But some of it's, I don't know, some of it I want to show off. It's really cute and I love it so much. But how do you manage that?

[Erin Andrews]

Yeah, I mean, I think you know what you're up against. Everybody has an opinion, so is it worth it? Probably not. I mean, I think I posted a picture of my son on ice skates. He wasn't skating yet, but we have him walking on the carpet. His dad's a former NHL player. I mean, that's just what they do. What he did when he was that age to strengthen his ankles. Were there naysayers? Absolutely. I don't care. But I. I'm pretty cautious right now of what I'm posting. But also know. And you know this better than anyone, people just have an opinion.

[Dylan Dreyer]

Yeah. Do you ever listen to any advice or anything that's given to you on social media?

[Erin Andrews]

Not social media, but all I'm doing is whenever I see a mom, especially a boy mom, what am I doing here? What do I do? Does this get better? I mean, I feel like we've kind of been with friends and that are older and have older kids and just like, hey, do you have any tips?

[Dylan Dreyer]

Yeah.

[Erin Andrews]

How does this not affect my relationship? How does this make my relationship better? How am I always going to feel this crappy when I leave town? So, yeah. And then this is what we signed up for. This is what I injected myself for 8 million times.

[Dylan Dreyer]

Right. There is something to be said about you being so open and honest about everything, because there are so many people out there who are taking solace in knowing they're not alone. And I think it's underestimated how much it helps to go through anything you're going through to know that you're not doing it alone.

[Erin Andrews]

Yeah. You know, when I was diagnosed with cervical cancer and I went through two surgeries during a football season, during the year I was hosting Dancing with the Stars, I did keep it quiet. I didn't say anything. Some of my crew members knew on Fox. Nobody from Dancing with the Stars knew. My family, my team, all that knew. And then afterwards, it was crazy because I had a female writer from Sports Illustrated. We had this super bowl that year. It was my second Super Bowl. She just said, I'd love to sit and talk to you about how your year went. And I was like, okay, well, let me tell you this. So she wrote the story. She had no idea what she was getting. I knew the next day it was hitting. It was going live. I didn't anticipate the reaction it got. It then turned into one in how many women get cervical cancer? One in how many women die of cervical Cancer. You shouldn't be dying of cervical cancer. It's treatable. These are the signs. I mean, you looked at every morning show, and it was up. It was a ton of articles, and then it became cervical cancer awareness. So I sat back, and I was like, wow, I did some good kind of sharing that information. Then I work with mostly men. I was getting text messages from Robert Kraft, the owner of the New England Patriots head coaches. I went to go work. The super bowl players were stopping me on the sidelines saying, thank you. After that, I decided to be open about our infertility and how much we had gone through stuff and our loss, because, again, I think I was just tired, and I was over the whole situation. And then obviously, what we heard after I was public was, that was. Was great. And I'm laughing because my friend, also my publicist, is sitting here, and I called her one day, or I think somebody that heard my podcast before it went live, said Aaron just talked about her miscarriage on the podcast, and she's like, all right, hold on. But it was like, I might as well spit this up while we're at it, you know? But, yeah, it's just like, I kind of made a promise to myself that, like, I just want to be real with people because a lot of people are going through stuff, you know?

[Dylan Dreyer]

And it's also exhausting to put the wall up all the time.

[Erin Andrews]

Oh, my God.

[Dylan Dreyer]

Yeah, everything's great. Everything's good. No problems here, you know? And it's like. Like, I think the same goes for parenting, too. There is this stigma where you do need to be the perfect parent and be the perfect everything, but it's just not realistic.

[Erin Andrews]

I. Yeah. Thank you for saying that.

[Dylan Dreyer]

What are you excited for going forward?

[Erin Andrews]

I'm going through something right now. I was just talking to my girlfriends about it where I can't watch a movie the same because I'm so afraid of, like, my kid. You know what I mean? You can't read or watch some of the things you could when you didn't have a kid. And my friends warned me about that. I need to get over that part. Like, let this kid have wings and fly. No, I'm excited to see how school goes. I can't wait till he starts up sports. I can't wait for him. He has a weird grasp on the fact his dad played hockey. Now he thinks his dad play every. He sees NBA highlights. Dad, dad. No, your dad didn't play NBA.

[Dylan Dreyer]

He.

[Erin Andrews]

He sees NFL and he says, mama. But every hockey thing is dad, dad. Dad. We're like, no, your dad is not Alex Ovechkin. But that's okay. Yeah. I'm excited to see how, like, what he thinks of our careers.

[Dylan Dreyer]

Yeah.

[Erin Andrews]

And what we're doing. That'll be pretty cool. Yeah. Yeah.

[Dylan Dreyer]

And I promise, twos can be tough, but threes, fours, no, it's different. But it does get easier in a different way. The exhaustion of picking things up off the floor, watching him throw this over, that does go away. You are in for so many wonderful blessings, and it's so incredible.

[Erin Andrews]

I can't wait.

[Dylan Dreyer]

I'm excited for it.

[Erin Andrews]

Yeah. Thanks.

[Dylan Dreyer]

Thank you so much for being here. It was such a pleasure to talk to you.

[Erin Andrews]

Right on.

[Dylan Dreyer]

Just keep crushing it.

[Erin Andrews]

You make this so easy. Thank you.

[Dylan Dreyer]

Thank you. I'm just so appreciative of Erin just giving us such a revealing conversation, a revealing side to all the ups and downs and some of the heartaches that she's been through over the years. And just talking to her about those things brings back that flood of emotions that I felt when I was going through the same thing, especially when I tried for so long to have Oliver, our second child. And, you know, it's just. For what it's worth, it does get better to sometimes stop and think back to how I became a parent. I was a different person back then. It's really hard sometimes to get that family that you have in your mind. But whatever God has planned for you, whatever that family is, whatever that family looks like to you, it's exactly what it's meant to be. So go through the process. Listen to others who maybe are going through the same thing. Take advice. When you can hear that advice, share your story with others, because your story could be an inspiration and the help somebody else needs. So I'm just so grateful for Erin for having that conversation with us today. So be sure to like or subscribe. You can follow me, Dylan Dreyer, NBC, on Instagram. And, of course, today, parents for more content. Bye. Bye. This episode was produced by Ann Lagomayo with audio production by Ricardo Gome. Rachel. Paula Abramson is our parenting reporter. Amanda Sidman is our booking producer. It was edited by Ali Strain. Our audio engineer is Joe Plord. Our head of audio production is Jessica Fenton. Ashley Domagola is our production manager. Sadie Bass is our supervising producer. Ariana Davis is the executive editor of the Today show, and Ashley Kodiani is the vice president of content strategy. I'm Dylan Dreier, and this has been the Parent Chat, a production of. Of the Today Show. See you next week.

[Northwestern Mutual Announcer]

When I got a new car, I thought my insurance premium would increase and empty my bank account like if a tween won the lottery.

[Dylan Dreyer]

Bro, I bought a house and trampoline floors are getting installed today.

[Northwestern Mutual Announcer]

But switching to Geico saved me hundreds. So my bank account is safe.

[Carl Radke]

It feels good to save hundreds.

[Erin Andrews]

It feels good to Geico.