Mandy Moore has opened up about the IVF journey she once saw as a fertility backup plan, only for it to fail before she unexpectedly became pregnant with her third child. The This Is Us actress, 42, reflected on the experience during an appearance on the Not Skinny But Not Fat podcast on Tuesday.
After conceiving her sons Gus, five, and Ozzie, three, naturally with husband Taylor Goldsmith, Moore said she decided to explore IVF as an 'insurance policy' as she considered the possibility of expanding her family. The couple hoped the process would give them greater flexibility by allowing them to freeze an embryo until the timing felt right for a third child.
'So, I did a round of IVF, and it was unsuccessful, we didn't get any viable eggs, no embryos,' Moore said on the podcast. 'And I was like okay, well this just settles that. If this is something that is meant to be, it will happen naturally.'
Moore went on to explain that she was content with her growing family at the time, saying she was 'so grateful and so happy with these two guys,' referring to sons Gus and Ozzie. But the actress then revealed that fate had other plans, joking about the arrival of her youngest child, daughter Louise - affectionately known as Lou - whom she and Goldsmith welcomed in 2024.
'And then Lou just had to show up,' Moore quipped. 'And she showed up very, very surprisingly,' she continued. 'We were not trying, but obviously we were open to it because of the IVF of it all.'
The actress has previously opened up about the unexpected twists in her path to motherhood. In a 2024 post on the This Was Us podcast Instagram account, Moore revealed she had been told her chances of conceiving were low before she fell pregnant with her first child. Reflecting on the experience, Moore wrote: 'The doctor told me there was a slim chance of getting pregnant… and then lo and behold to our surprise, I became pregnant with Gus.'
Elsewhere in the conversation, Moore opened up about the close friendship she formed with Hilary Duff and the support the former Disney star provided as she adjusted to life as a new mother during the pandemic. Reflecting on their bond, Moore revealed the pair leaned on one another as they navigated parenthood at the same time.
'We went through - [Hilary] went through her third pregnancy, and I went through my first pregnancy - like together. And so, like I really was able to immediately lean on her,' she said.
Moore went on to praise Duff for bringing together a group of mothers during the uncertainty of the Covid era. '[Hilary] was the one that welcomed in all these other new moms during the pandemic to a baby class at her house,' she shared. 'We started with like baby music class when our kids were like little blobs just lying on the grass. It was so much fun.'
The actress recalled how the gatherings helped create a valuable support system at a time when many new parents felt isolated. 'I have become a mom with her, and she's the best,' Moore said.
Looking back on the period, she admitted becoming pregnant during the pandemic was far from easy. 'It was feeling incredibly confusing and scary to be, like, pregnant during that strange time that gave us all PTSD,' she said.
Moore has previously spoken about the importance of the friendships she has formed since becoming a parent, telling Glamour earlier this year: 'I feel exceedingly lucky that my kids happen to spend time with people that I feel like our values are aligned with.' She added: 'The friends that I've made since becoming a parent are some of the deeper, more surprising friendships I've found as an adult.'
While Moore first rose to fame as a teen pop star with hits including Candy and I Wanna Be With You, she successfully transitioned into acting and went on to build an acclaimed career on screen. The actress is perhaps best known for her role as family matriarch Rebecca Pearson in NBC's hit drama This Is Us, which ran for six seasons between 2016 and 2022. Her performance earned widespread praise, including a Golden Globe nomination in 2017 and an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 2019. Moore also shared in the show's success alongside her castmates, with the ensemble winning Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in both 2018 and 2019.
