Paris Hilton surprised fans on Tuesday when she announced that she and her husband, Carter Reum, have welcomed a baby boy, which raised questions over whether she used the services of a surrogate.

The socialite, 41, took to Instagram to share a photo of the newborn’s hand wrapped around her thumb, writing in the caption: “You are already loved beyond words.”

Hilton shared her joy at becoming a mother in a statement to People, which revealed that she and Reum had welcomed a boy.

“It’s always been my dream to be a mother and I’m so happy that Carter and I found each other,” she told the magazine. “We are so excited to start our family together and our hearts are exploding with love for our baby boy.”

This is her first child, while entrepreneur and venture capitalist Reum, 41, has a 10-year-old daughter with reality TV star Laura Bellizzi.

While the news was met with an avalanche of congratulatory messages, others expressed shock, as there were no previous indications that Hilton and Reum, who tied the knot in November 2021, were expecting a child. According to People, Hilton did use a surrogate, although no source was cited.

In the days leading up to her birth announcement, the Simple Life star shared a plethora of photos and videos of herself on Instagram that showed no sign of a baby bump. She also deejayed at an event this month, according to her posts.

Furthermore, the Cooking With Paris star was photographed in figure-hugging and midriff-baring ensembles at a number of recent events in 2022, including KIIS FM’s iHeartRadio Jingle Ball on December 2 and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s Art+Film Gala on November 5.

Newsweek has reached out to a representative of Hilton for comment.

Hilton began in vitro fertilization (IVF) in 2020, after longtime friend Kim Kardashian suggested she try the fertility procedure. Kardashian had used IVF to conceive Saint, her son with Kanye West. Kardashian naturally conceived her eldest daughter, North, while her other children, Chicago and Psalm, were born via surrogate.

In an appearance on The Trend Reporter, a podcast, in January 2021 Hilton told Mara Schiavocampo: “We have been doing the IVF so I can pick twins if I like. Kim was the one who told me about that. I didn’t even know anything about it. I’m happy that she told me that advice and introduced me to her doctor.”

She continued: “So I’m really excited to just move on for the next step of my life and finally just have, like, a real life. Because I really do believe that having a family and having children is the meaning of life.

“And I haven’t got to experience that yet, because I didn’t feel like anybody deserved that love from me, and now I finally found the person who does,” she said.

In an interview with People this past December, Hilton said she and Reum had begun their IVF treatment during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. “We started going and doing it, like, a few months in because the world was shut down.

She went on: “We knew we wanted to start a family, and I was, like, ‘This is perfect timing. Usually, I’m on a plane 250 days out of the year, and let’s just get all of the eggs stocked and ready,’ and we have tons of them just waiting.”

newsweek