Deidre Hall Struggled With Infertility — Is ‘Beyond Grateful’ For Her Two Sons Born Via Surrogate

Mar 22, 2022

American actress Deidre Hall is known for her iconic portrayal of Dr. Marlena Evans on the daytime soap opera “Days of our Lives.” Hall has been playing Marlena for over 40 years and is still going strong. She is incredibly grateful for the career that the role has given her, but also for the blessings in her own life. Hall suffered from infertility for years but eventually became a mother through surrogacy.

Hall has been married four times in her life, first at the age of 21 to William Hudson. They were married from 1966 to 1970. Next, the actress married singer-songwriter Keith Barbour and they were together from 1972 to 1977. Hall’s third husband was Michael Dubelko and they were married for only two years, from 1987 to 1989. 

Her fourth husband, who is the father of her sons, is TV producer Steve Sohmer. They were married in 1991, and their son David Atticus was born a year later via a surrogate named Robin. The same woman gave birth to Hall’s son Tully Chapin in 1995. Sadly, Hall and Sohmer decided to divorce in 2006.

Hall has shared that she does not intend to get married again, but that hasn’t gotten in the way of her happiness. There is more to life than romance and the star is still very fulfilled by her career. Her two children are now grown up and doing well, so there is much to be thankful for according to Hall. Keep reading to learn more about Hall and to hear her story of how her sons came into the world with the help of a surrogate. 

After working in the entertainment industry for decades, Hall knows not to take her role on “Days of our Lives” for granted. The actress said to Closer Weekly, “I just get a flooding sense of relief when the show is picked up every year. I joke with my castmates that whenever I pull up to the studio security gate with my key card, I hold my breath for a moment, and think, Oh, it opened — I guess I get to come in today!”

Even though she has been married and divorced four times, Hall looks back at her past relationships with a positive outlook. “A friend of mine says, ‘You’ve got a bad picker,’ and I think that’s not entirely untrue. But when I look at the growth in my life, everything got me to where I am. I was going to school in Florida and a marriage got me to California, so that opened a few thousand doors! I’ve taken lessons (from them) and still have (some) great friendships,” she explained. 

Hall came from a big family and always wanted to be a mother. She underwent several fertility treatments but eventually accepted that giving birth to her own children was not in the cards. Later, her journey with surrogacy was made into a film. Hall shared: 

“I spent two years doing in vitro trying to get pregnant, and finally, my doctor said, ‘You are out of the baby business,’ so we looked at surrogacy. The film was a great joy, but the casting was too hard. We had footage of when my son was born that we wanted to use, and it wasn’t going to work having another actress play me and then have (the real) me in the birth room.”

The process of finding someone to give birth to her children was not easy, but Hall ended up with the perfect surrogate. Hall said, “After watching Robin with her own children, we felt safe giving her ours. I had no fear that she would see that baby and want to keep him.”

The star added that adoption was always an option for her, but surrogacy happened first so she and Sohmer followed that route. “Adoption was on my list. So was going door to door and begging strangers. Surrogacy just worked first,” Hall explained. 

Hall never had to worry about her kids not understanding that they were born from a surrogate. She shared:

“In fact, the other night, David wanted to discuss his birth and I asked him what he wanted to know. He wondered what he was wearing. I told him ‘Nothing, you were naked.’ He asked who was there and I told him ‘Your Mommy and your Daddy. We loved you so much, we couldn’t wait to meet you.’ He asked ‘Was Tully there?’ I said, ‘No, he wasn’t born yet. He was in heaven.’ David said, ‘Really? He wasn’t in Robin’s tummy yet?’ I think he gets the idea.”

Being a mother has been one of life’s greatest joys for Hall. Even if she came to it in a non-traditional way, she is thankful for her family as well as her life and career. Hall said to Closer:

“It’s the best time ever … until the next time! I’m so sublimely happy. My kids and my family are in good shape, I’m healthy. I do a job that I love. I have people and a home that I adore, a garden that I like growing. It doesn’t get any better, and I’m beyond grateful.”

Are you a fan of Deidre Hall? What do you think about surrogacy? Let us know your opinion and be sure to send this along to all of the soap opera fans in your life.