Jimmy Kimmel, wife Molly McNearney and their children Jane and Billy | Billy | Source: Getty Images | Instagram/ Jimmy Kimmel
"He's doing great," late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel said about his beloved son, Billy, who was born with a congenital heart condition.
Little Billy is Jimmy's son from his union with his love of 13 years, "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" head writer Molly McNearney.
The couple's little boy has scars from his surgeries, and his father tries to explain them to him. However, he doesn't seem to care one bit about it.
Jimmy Kimmel and his wife, Molly McNearney, recently opened up about their 5-year-old son, Billy, sharing the fantastic news that he was doing fine after undergoing open-heart surgery at three days and seven months old.
The talk show host and his wife were at the 2022 Children's Hospital Los Angeles Gala when he spoke about his son, born with a congenital heart condition.
Jane Kimmel, Tv host Jimmy Kimmel, Billy Kimmel and Molly McNearney attend 2018 LA Loves Alex's Lemonade at UCLA Royce Quad on September 8, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. | Source: Getty Images
"He's doing great. He still needs one open heart surgery, but he's doing great." Kimmel shared that their son was one of the main reasons the couple attended and supported the charity.
Speaking to the reporters at the benefit on Saturday, October 9, Kimmel disclosed that supporting the charity came from a personal place. They had been patrons long before their son came along, oblivious that his own family would one day be beneficiaries of the treatment from the organization.
At only five, Billy carries scars on his chest from his two open heart surgeries, but according to his dad, the little boy wouldn't care less about his scars or his surgeries. Kimmel told the reporters that Billy had no idea what they were up to on Saturday and did not care a tad about it:
"I tried to explain the heart surgery to him because he has a bit of a scar down the center of his chest, and he has almost no interest."
While the boy seems fine, his life began on a dramatic note for him and his parents, and it is tear-jerking to see the progress he's made in the five years he's walked the earth.
Billy Had Open-Heart Surgery Only Three Days After His Birth
Like all parents, Kimmel and McNearney were ecstatic when they found out they would welcome their second baby. And on April 21, 2017, they celebrated the arrival of their little boy, William John, or Billy, as they often refer to him.
Sadly, their initial baby bliss was cut short when they learned their son had been born with a heart defect. The condition, known as Tetralogy of Fallot with pulmonary atresia, required Billy to have open heart surgery only three days after his birth.
Kimmel shared in detail how they received the disheartening news during an opening monologue to his show "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" But before starting the frightening narration, Kimmel assured the audience that the tale had a happy ending.
He then told how his wife had been in bed relaxing after delivering their baby at Cedars-Sinai Hospital. Their closest family members, who had come to meet and celebrate their baby, were in the room. Everything was good, and they were happy, until a nurse, who's been checking out the baby, heard a murmur in Billy's heart.
While that is common, what alarmed the attentive nurse was how purple Billy looked, a very uncommon and worrisome trait in a newborn. Kimmel recalls the nurse asking him to walk with her and Billy to the Neonatal intensive care unit (NICU)
Once they got there, to Kimmel's chagrin, he discovered their new baby had a hole in the wall between the left and right side of his heart that barred him from getting enough oxygen to his blood. The condition would require several surgeries to fix, with his first scheduled only days later.
Luckily, Billy's first surgery was successful, and as Kimmel narrated and showed pictures of how his little boy looked at the theatre versus after, he teared up then made light of the moment, saying:
"Poor boy, not only did he get a bad heart, [but] he also got my face."
The audience burst into a roar of laughter, even as Kimmel assured them that they got to take their boy home only six days after his open heart surgery, adding that he was feeding and sleeping well.
At seven months, Billy underwent his second surgery, and like his first, it was just as successful. On the morning of her son's surgery, McNearney pleaded with other parents in an emotional tweet that said:
"If your children are healthy, be thankful. And do something to help those whose children are not."
After Billy's second surgery, ABC announced that Kimmel would take a week off from his show to spend time with his family. In the meantime, celebrity Samaritans would handle his hosting duties.
Chosen to fill in for Kimmel were "Jurassic World" actor Chris Pratt, who hosted on Monday, and "Black-ish" star Tracee Ellis Ross, who took over on Tuesday. "How I Met Your Mother" actor Neil Patrick Harris filled in on Wednesday, while "The Bridesmaids" actress Melissa McCarthy on Thursday.
It has been a tumultuous journey for Kimmel and McNearny raising a son with a life-threatening heart condition. It is no wonder small milestones like celebrating their son's birthday are a huge deal.
The chat show host celebrated his son's 5th birthday in April, paying him a sweet tribute with a heartfelt Instagram post. He posted a photo of Billy in a blue T-shirt smiling at the small cake in front of him decorated with three birthday candles.
After wishing his "little nut" an excellent birthday, he thanked the brilliant doctors and nurses for saving Billy's life. Also, he thanked everyone that had donated and held the family in prayers and positive thoughts.
Who Is Billy's Mom, Molly McNearney?
Billy's dad, Kimmel, might be a household name to many who love and watch his show, but his mother, McNearney, may not be so familiar to as many people. But who is she?
Molly McNearney attends the Jimmy Kimmel, Molly McNearney and St. Joseph Center at Winter Wonderland event on December 12, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. | Source: Getty Images
McNearny is the executive producer and co-head writer of "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" While the two have been partners for nearly a decade, theirs began as a workplace relationship. McNearney says their first meeting was nothing to write home about. She told Glamour:
"When I first met him, he insulted me."
Producer Molly McNearney attends ELLE's 6th Annual Women In Television Dinner at Sunset Tower Hotel on January 20, 2016 in West Hollywood, California. | Source: Getty Images
She retold how the show's executive producer had taken her into Kimmel's office, introducing her to him as his new assistant. Kimmel reportedly never looked at her, and when the executive producer announced that McNearney completed in triathlons, Kimmel looked up at her and said:
"That is really stupid. What a waste of time."
Despite the rough start to their working relationship, the two eventually developed a camaraderie, mainly because they worked closely. However, at the time, they were both involved with other people, and their relationship remained purely non-romantic for the first six years.
Jimmy Kimmel, and Molly McNearney at the one night only celebration "Norman Lear: 100 Years of Music and Laughter" on September 8 2022 | Source: Getty Images
Eventually, they found themselves single, and since they had grown closer over the years, suddenly, things turned. Kimmel finally won the lady's heart by cooking for her. McNearney told Glamour, as People reports:
"All the writers would socialize after the show, and we would just hang out more and more. We really liked each other as friends, and then it just kind of turned. He cooked for me, and that was it. It sealed the deal."
They had a whirlwind romance but were slow to share the news with their coworkers. McNearney says she loved how the writers, including herself, made fun of Kimmel and was comfortable in how the working relationship thrived.
Molly McNearney and television host/comedian Jimmy Kimmel at the Wynn Las Vegas on October 29, 2011 in Las Vegas, Nevada | Source: Getty Images
She knew dating Kimmel could easily jeopardize that and did not want their work relationship's dynamic to change because of their new dating status. Even so, she decided she would carry on with the romance.
When they first started dating, McNearney soon discovered just how thoughtful Kimmel was. She recalls spending time between her house and Kimmel's as she still loved her space. But then, one day, while at his house, she noticed that he had been in the bathroom way too long.
She thought maybe he'd taken time to internalize their relationship, but then she had the surprise of her life when he presented her with a big box containing two of everything in her makeup and toiletry bag a few days later.
Jimmy Kimmel, Molly McNearney, and Amy Poehler at Lincoln Center on April 23, 2013 in New York City. | Source: Getty Images
He had noticed her lugging stuff back and forth between her house and his, and he wanted to make her comfortable in his house. The whole hour he'd been in the bathroom, he had been going through her stuff to determine what he would get her.
The lovebirds dated for three years, and as they vacationed in South Africa's Kruger National Park in August 2012, Kimmel figured it was time to pop the question.
They married in Ojai, California, on July 13, 2013, in a star-studded ceremony attended by the likes of Jeniffer Aniston and then-fiancé Justin Theroux, Emily Blunt, Ben Affleck, and his then-wife Jennifer Garner, and Matt Damon and his wife, Luciana. Following the ceremony, the pair jetted off for their honeymoon in Portofino, Italy.
Jimmy Kimmel and Molly McNearney attend the 2022 Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Gala at the Barker Hangar on October 08, 2022 in Santa Monica, California. | Source: Getty Images
Asked how she felt about Jennifer Aniston attending her wedding, McNearney shared that having grown up watching Aniston on "Friends," the thought of a celebrity attending her big day would have been exciting years ago.
However, McNearney had been in the entertainment industry for a while and interacted with many celebrities. From that, she realized they were just as human as anyone else, and the notion of a celebrity attending her wedding no longer excited her. She told Glamour:
"You take all the fame stuff away, and they are just really wonderful friends and human beings...You see them as people. Some are good people. Others are not. Jen and Justin [Theroux] are two of the really good ones."
Jimmy Kimmel, wife Molly McNearney, children William and Jane arrive for the world premiere of "Toy Story 4" at El Capitan theatre in Hollywood, California on June 11, 2019. | Source: Getty Images
Even after exchanging nuptials and beginning a personal life together, Kimmel and McNearney continued working together on the show, with MvcNearney expressing how much she loved her job and how well their working relationship still was.
Jimmy Kimmel and Molly McNearney Are Doting Parents of Two. Who Are Their Kids?
After their beautiful wedding, the two settled into married life and soon received the fantastic news that they would become parents. They welcomed their first child, daughter Jane, on July 11, 2014, a year into their marriage.
Kimmel introduced his newborn to the show shortly after Jane was born, joking that he had taken thousands of photos of her. He then shared a cute photo of his daughter with her hand over her eyes, in what her dad said was the classic "no pictures, please" pose.
Jane even participated in her dad's show on June 2020, where her dad questioned her about possible career paths and helped her develop a "vision board" to plan her future.
And while Jane's birth and early childhood had been smooth, her little brother did not have that luxury. His health struggles, as mentioned earlier, were hard on his parents, and his mother struggled to come to terms with his condition.
However, Kimmel praised his wife for remaining level-headed, loving, strong, and positive during the "worst nightmare a new mother could experience."
So far, Billy has had two successful surgeries to correct his heart condition. But even with the awareness that Kimmel has created around the condition, it remains a strange phenomenon to parents that have never experienced it first-hand in their children. So, what is the Tetralogy of Fallot?
Tetralogy of Fallot Explained
Tetralogy of Fallot is a rare condition caused by a combination of four heart defects often present at birth. The defects affect the heart structure, often leading to the flow of oxygen-deprived blood to the rest of the body.
According to Mayo Clinic, a nonprofit American academic medical center, the defect is most often detected at infanthood or soon after, with very few cases remaining undetected through adulthood.
The condition requires infants that have it to get corrective surgery and regular doctors checkups for the rest of their lives and might be restricted in the physical activities in which they can participate.
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