Seth Meyers and wife Alexi Ashe welcomed their second baby in a not-so-ordinary way.
On Monday, the Late Night host announced the birth of his son, Axel Strahl Meyers, and shared the incredible story of his wife’s delivery. Before he gives the details, the 44-year-old TV host noted that Alexi almost gave birth to their first son, Ashe Olsen, in an Uber two years ago but Meyers said, “Move over that story, because that’s so normal compared to what happened yesterday.”
Meyers revealed that his wife went into labor on April 8. It was a “totally normal Sunday” that began with brunch and a walk around the park. Alexi said she’d been “feeling something” and might give birth sooner. When she realized she’s going to have a baby, Meyers called an Uber but by the time they reached the apartment lobby, Alexi said she can’t make it to the hospital.
“My wife just says, ‘I can’t get in the car. I’m going to have the baby right now. The baby is coming.’ I’m just trying to calm her down,” Seth shared. “I’m like, ‘Look, no, because I’ve been through exactly one birth.’ I’m like, ‘This happens all the time. Trust me.'”
Even their doula tried to calm her down. “My wife was saying, ‘The baby is coming. The baby is out,'” Meyers recalled, adding that their doula then checked, only to confirm that the baby was coming out right then. “I looked at my wife. The only way to describe it, like someone hiding a baby in a pair of sweatpants. It was like somebody was trying to sneak the baby on a plane.”
His wife lowered herself to the floor and the others formed a semi-circle around her. “We undressed her and the baby was just out!” Seth said. “The head of the baby was out!”
“I called 911, and over the course of a minute conversation, I said, ‘We’re about to have a baby! We’re having a baby! We had a baby,” Seth added. “I went from someone calling in about an emergency to just sharing good news with a stranger. Like, ‘Yeah, it’s a boy!'”
The host said his wife was “incredibly calm” considering the circumstances. Then he thanked the New York Fire Department and Police Department, who arrived shortly after Axel was born and helped cut the umbilical cord. He was also grateful for his neighbors who put towels in their dryer to keep the baby warm after its birth.
“It was just this incredible outpouring of kindness from people we barely knew,” he admitted, adding that he “kept apologizing” for the situation. Eventually, EMTs arrived to take Alexi and Axel to the hospital. In the end, Seth said, “Everything was fine. It’s crazy, obviously.” He then thanked everyone who had helped.
He also explained why they picked the name “Axel,” saying they liked it but joked he is “going to tell him it’s because firemen were there when he was born.” ” Strahl is Alexi’s mother’s maiden name. “I’ve never met my wife’s grandparents, but I’ve heard so much about them, and they were Holocaust survivors who met the day after they were liberated.”
And Seth finally expressed his love to his “rock star” wife, thanking her for being a great person. “But of course, mostly I just want to thank my wife, who obviously has to get an apartment closer to the hospital. She’s so amazing. My kids, I haven’t known ’em very long, but I can guarantee I’m gonna love them unconditionally forever. As far as the speed in which she took this guy and had him on her, I just watched him like, ‘That kid’s going to be fine forever because of her.’ She’s really amazing; I’m still getting choked up thinking about how brave I was.” Then he thanked the audience for “indulging me on this crazy story.”
