Maria Menounos On Motherhood, Manifestation & Having a House That’s ‘Electric’ With Joy: ‘I Didn’t Know This Existed’

Two months into motherhood, Maria Menounos is relishing it all — yep, even the spit-up. The journalist, TV personality, and Heal Squad podcast host is embracing even the messiest moments of motherhood, perhaps because she had such a difficult path to get there. Menounos, 45, endured years of IVF treatments and a failed surrogate match — not to mention being diagnosed with a brain tumor and then stage 2 pancreatic cancer — before finally welcoming daughter Athena Alexandra via surrogate this past June.

So yes, she’s ready for all the good stuff now, thank you very much, and a little baby spit-up isn’t going to faze her. Welcoming the good stuff is also the cornerstone of her latest partnership with RXBAR: Menounos worked with the brand to create a limited-edition version called ManifX bars; taking the popular Chocolate Sea Salt flavor and creating a customizable wrapper where you can write down your goals, intentions, and anything you want to manifest into existence in your life. (Want to manifest one of your own? From now until September 21 you can visit RXBARManifX.com for a chance to win the bars.)

“Manifesting has been a part of my life since before I knew it was called manifesting,” Menounos tells SheKnows, calling the customizable labels “your accountability tool.” And while she might be accountable to a demanding (albeit adorable) little boss these days, the star is using the partnership as a reminder to make time for herself, too.

SheKnows: First of all, congratulations on baby Athena! You’ve shared so much about your experience and your journey to motherhood. Why it was important to you to be open and honest about your experience?

Maria Menounos: I feel like everyone learns from people’s experiences and journeys and their honesty. So I’ve always loved sharing. And I just don’t know how else to be, to be honest. I mean, I share everything that I can — everything that I’m learning, everything that I’m experiencing. I like helping people. It’s always been something that’s been a through line of my life.

SK: What’s been the most surprising thing about motherhood for you so far? What didn’t you expect?

MM: People say your priorities will change, and I can see that already. Now, if I have something [to do] I’m really weighing it: ‘Do I really need to go to this thing, or do I not? Is this really important enough to take me away from her?’ So it really is keeping my priorities in [order]. I have to be more selective because I don’t want to miss a moment with her. So I think I’m just most surprised by that. And also how electric this house is with joy and just happiness. I didn’t know this existed. So she’s brought so much to us already.

SK: That’s exciting. What was your first actual “Oh, my God, I’m a mom!” moment?

MM: I think catching her from the doctor when she was born, with her umbilical cord still attached. I was like, ‘Oh, my goodness. This is a life that we just created.’ So that’s number one. And then I have to say, I think pushing the stroller, I felt like a mom. I don’t know, [there was] just something about that; It was just the coolest thing in the world. I was like, ‘Wow, I’m a mom. And that’s my baby.’ And so I’ll run around the house and I’m like, ‘This is my baby. I have a baby. You guys. Can you believe this?’

SK: I think mine was when I got pooped on for the first time!

MM: Oh, my goodness. Well, I haven’t gotten pooped on yet! But I do understand the whole spit-up thing because I was like, ‘What is everybody talking about that there’s just spit up all the time?’ And so, I had spit up on me, and I didn’t realize and I went to do some cryotherapy. And I went to put my clothes back on I smelled like spit up. And I go ‘Oh, that’s what they were talking about.’

SK: And did you care?

MM: I don’t care! She could do anything. I love her poop. I love everything!

SK: Are you finding a mom crew? Who’s helping you in this new role — or are you feeling pretty confident with your own instincts?

MM: I have some moms, yeah. You know it’s still early. She’s only 2 months old. So I haven’t really like ventured out with her much because her immune system is still being built. But I definitely have enough people to lean on for questions.

SK: What’s one of the biggest questions you’ve had so far that you turn to somebody else for help with?

MM: I recently asked my friend Laurie for help finding a nanny. We’re trying hard to find a Greek nanny; that is so hard to find. And I was asking my producer for Heal Squad [for advice] just the other day, because [Athena’s] teething so early. She’s only 2 months old, but she’s tracking like a 4 month old.

SK: I want to turn to your new project and the reason why we’re talking today. I love that you’re into manifestation. Can you tell me more about how you got into it and how it works for you in your life?

MM: Manifesting has been a part of my life since before I knew it was called manifesting. And RXBARs’ no-B.S. approach to their ingredients, [and] health and wellness, made them the perfect company to collaborate with on this manifestation bar. So we teamed up to make these beautiful chocolate sea salt bars, called ManifX bars. They have these customizable labels, so instead of listing ingredients like you normally would, you can write in the things you want to manifest every single day. And it’s your accountability tool, so that you can keep remembering what you’re working towards. … We have to be thinking them, we have to be feeling them. And we have to be writing them down.

SK: What are some examples of specific manifestations you’ve written on your ManifX bars?

MM: I have four workouts per week on here. And being present for my family — this is actually really great, because sometimes I’ll be feeding her and it’ll be just before workout, and I’ll grab my bar and see ‘Be present for my family’ and I’ll realize I’ve just been multitasking on my phone. And this reminds me that I don’t want to do that. I also have rest and meditation on here, because I want to remind myself that I have to be rejuvenating my mind and my body and my soul every single day as well so that I can be my best for her.

SK: That’s a really important point and a hard point for moms — especially new moms; to acknowledge the importance of rest. Can you talk about how that works for you?

MM: I do feel guilty. I want to be there for all the moments, but then I realized I have to recharge to be my best for her. So I’m still figuring it out. We’re only 2 months in. But these bars are certainly really great reminders for me, that that’s what I intend, right? You have to be intentional with what you want. And so I’m really trying to to find those moments.

Meditations haven’t been as consistent as they were before, but they will get there; I’ll find my rhythm. Right now it’s finding her rhythm. But I do know that my workouts are really important for me so I can stay strong for her. She’s tracking as a 4 month old, she’s big already; I gotta be ready for what 4 months is gonna look like! And meditating is really important so that my mind is clear, and I can be my best for her. And I gotta get my rest. We have to have empathy for ourselves as moms and love ourselves enough to do what’s right for us so we can be our best for them.

SK: Are there any other daily practices that are helping you thrive right now and be your best self?

MM: Yeah, it’s important for me to live by example for Athena. Growing up no one’s teaching us about health. It’s always, get good grades, succeed, go to a great college, you know? Get straight A’s, get a good job, make a lot of money, get married, have kids. So my goal is to teach Athena from a young age to be the CEO of her health.

This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.