Nick Loeb Speaks on Embryo Custody Battle with Sofia Vergara
Sofia Vergara and her ex-fiance Nick Loeb have been embroiled in a very public dispute over custody of two frozen embryos the pair had planned to implant in a surrogate when they were together.
Loeb, whose engagement with Vergara was called off nearly a year ago, has started speaking out about why he is suing the Modern Family star over custody of the embryos, making appearances on NBC’s Today and CNN’s New Day.
Something working against Loeb is that he signed a contract with Vergara that all decisions regarding the embryos had to be made in tandem. That may seem iron-clad, but Loeb doesn’t think so. He said on Today, “We actually signed these forms way at the very beginning, before all the process happened. You know, none of the forms really discuss what would happen in the event of a separation. They all had to do with whether we were together…There was no thought of ‘Well, now she’s going to change her mind, and now we’re not going to do it.’ I always assumed, with our agreement, that we were going to agree to take these full term.”
Loeb speaking on this has seemingly forced Vergara to as well. She appeared on Good Morning America the same day Loeb was making the rounds, agreeing with the perception that Loeb is using this dispute for publicity.
Vergara said, “I don’t want to allow this person to take more advantage of my career and try to promote himself and get press for this…There’s papers signed. There is a court date. He shouldn’t be creating something so ugly out of nothing.”
Back on Today, Hoda Kotb asked Loeb if this is a publicity stunt. Loeb replied, "Unfortunately, I didn’t even come out with the story to begin with. It was leaked to the press, there were comments made by her team in the press and I felt that I had to come out and correct the record. I submitted the op-ed to the New York Times a week before it even came out. I have no control when the New York Times prints its op-eds.”
Loeb told Kotb he’d be willing to share custody of the child that would be raised were he to win this court battle, but he’s also willing to take on all parenting and financial support himself. For him, this is about protecting what he deems as human life, as he said on CNN, “I’ve always wanted children, I’ve always wanted to be a father. I didn’t create lives lightly, this was very, very important to me. To the point where, when we created these lives and we put them into a surrogate, we were coming up with names for our children. And so, to do anything besides continue their journey towards life and birth to me is tantamount to destruction.”