Olivia Munn admits she didn’t ‘really connect’ with daughter during surrogacy: ‘Like an expectant father’

Olivia Munn candidly admitted she “felt like an expectant father” leading up to the birth of her second child, Méi, whom she and husband John Mulaney welcomed via surrogate last year.

“A lot of times people say, ‘Oh, the dads don’t really connect with the baby until it’s right there in front of them,’” the “Your Friends & Neighbors” actress explained to People for her cover story Saturday.

“The dads, they’re not carrying the baby. I carried Malcolm, so I understood from the very genesis, like, okay, I’ve got a life in me. Your body is changing and your energy is changing and your hair is changing and everything’s changing, so it feels very real all the time.”

However, ahead of Méi’s birth, Munn, 44, confessed, “[It] was the first time I was like, ‘Oh wait, is this what it’s like to be an expectant dad?’”

“It was a little bit of, ‘Oh wait, she’s coming,’” she continued before reiterating, “I felt like an expectant father.”

Despite the mixed emotions, the now-mom of two said the surrogacy still felt “very real” for her, thanks in part to her surrogate who would speak to her “all the time” and send videos.

Munn and Mulaney — whom she married last July — used a surrogate to expand their family due to her breast cancer diagnosis in April 2023.

The “X-Men: Apocalypse” star and comedian, 42, then announced their daughter’s arrival last September.

At the time, Munn expressed a similar sentiment to the one she shared with People, noting she had “profound emotions” about not carrying her daughter through the pregnancy.

“When I first met our gestational surrogate we spoke mother to mother. She showed me so much grace and understanding, I knew I had found a real-life angel,” she wrote via Instagram at the time.

The “New Girl” alum continued in her post, “Words cannot express my gratitude that she kept our baby safe for 9 months and made our dreams come true.”

Munn also revealed at the time the meaning behind her daughter’s name, Méi.

“I am so proud of my little plum, my little dragon for making the journey to be with us. My heart has exploded,” she gushed. “Méi (pronounced may) means plum in Chinese.”