Tyra Banks says doing IVF to conceive her son York Banks Asla left her “feeling so inadequate” at times.

Banks, who co-hosted the April 14 episode of TODAY with Jenna & Friends, recalled one part of her vitro fertilization experience that stuck with her.

In January 2016, Banks and her ex-partner Erik Asla welcomed their son York through surrogacy. In her Instagram birth announcement, Banks called York a “miracle baby” and thanked “the angel of a woman that carried” him.

“Isn’t being a mom one of the best things in the world?”  Jenna Bush Hager asked co-host Banks, whose son is 9.

 

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“I remember being 24 years old and I was saying, ‘In three years, I’m going to have a child … and I kept putting my career first …. and then, it was almost too late,” said Banks, 51.

She added, “IVF saved me and it was the last of my eggs … and so, I just made it and it is the most amazing thing.”

Jenna added, “I also love that you never gave up on that dream.”

Banks shared a “crazy” memory from after her egg retrieval, when she was admitted to a shared room.

“So the doctor would say to me, ‘You got six eggs’ and then he would go to the next curtain, ‘You got 35 eggs,’” recalled Banks. “I’m like, ‘Really, can you just whisper this or write it on a sheet of paper?’ Because here I am, feeling so inadequate.”

York Banks Asla and Tyra Banks at Harlem Globetrotters game in 2020.Tyra Banks and her son York Banks Asla, pictured in 2020.John Photography / Shutterstock

Banks said that her son York loves hearing about how his birth was a blessing.

“In my apartment here in New York, I made a tile in my son’s bedroom before he was even born,” Banks told Jenna. “It said, ‘Mommy already loves you.’ And so, when he comes to New York, he’s like, ‘Mommy, Mommy, you love me and I wasn’t even here. Tell me how much you wanted me.’”

York is his mama’s mini me.

“He’s finally understanding that I’m a model,” Banks told TODAY style correspondent Zanna Roberts Rassi in October 2024.

“And then he’s like, ‘Mommy, is this a model face?’” Banks said, adding, “I’m not pushing him to model. Like, if he wants to do it, he wants to do it, but I’m not going to be that mama.”