Seth Meyers' Wife Gives Birth to Son Axel—in Their Apartment Lobby!

The Late Night host shares the dramatic story of his second child's arrival

By Zach Johnson Apr 10, 2018 11:45 AMTags

Talk about making an entrance!

On Late Night Monday, Seth Meyers announced the birth of his second child, Axel Strahl Meyers—and shared the dramatic details of his son's delivery. The 44-year-old TV host—who also has a 2-year-old son Ashe Olsen Meyers—revealed his 35-year-old wife Alexi Ashe went into labor Apr. 8. It was a "totally normal Sunday" that began with brunch and a walk in the park. Later, as Seth was feeding his elder son lunch, his mother-in-law came downstairs and shouted, "We have to go to the hospital now!" Seth's sister-in-law came over to watch Ashe, and then he piled into the elevator with his doula, mother-in-law and wife. "My wife's in an intense amount of pain," the comedian said. "It seems like now it's just one long contraction."

So, Seth called an Uber, and by the time they reached the lobby of their apartment building, Alexi realized she wouldn'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 said. "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 reassure Alexi that she would be fine. "My wife is saying, 'That baby is coming! The baby is out!'" Seth said, joking that Alexi "looked like someone who was hiding a baby in a pair of sweatpants. It was like someone was trying to sneak a baby on a plane!" Alexi lowered herself to the floor and the other three formed a semi-circle around her. "We undressed her and the baby was just out!" Seth said. "The head of the baby was out!"

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"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 continued. "I went from someone calling in about an emergency to just sharing good news with a stranger. Like, 'Yeah, it's a boy!'" Alexi remained "incredibly calm," considering the circumstances. Seth thanked the New York Fire Department New York Police Department, who arrived just after Axel was born and cut the umbilical chord.

Seth also thanked his neighbors, who put towels in the dryer to keep Axel warm until more help arrived. "It was just this incredible outpouring of kindness from people we barely knew," he said, 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, but added, "F--k the Uber driver who charged me!"

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Axel was "just a name we liked," but Seth 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. They met at a hospital in Austria. Days like this, when someone is born, you have such appreciation for everyone in your lineage who lived so that you could have this moment. So, we're so happy to give him this name for people who obviously had to work so hard to do that," Seth said as he fought back tears. "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." Jokes aside, he thanked his "rock star" wife again, and then the audience for "indulging me on this crazy story."

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