Spanish actress Ana Obregón became the focus of intense public attention in 2023 after making a rare and highly debated choice following the death of her son. She decided to fulfill what she described as his last wish by using his preserved sperm to bring a child into the world through surrogacy.
Ana’s son, Aless Lequio, died in 2022 after battling cancer. He was only twenty seven. In the months after his passing, Ana shared that Aless had deeply wanted to become a father, and she felt committed to making sure that dream came true for him.
One year later, Ana welcomed a baby girl through a surrogate in the United States. She later clarified that the child, named Anita, was not her daughter but her granddaughter, conceived with her late son’s sperm.
“This little girl is not my daughter. She is my granddaughter,” Ana told ¡Hola! in April 2023. “She is Aless’s child, and when she is old enough I will tell her that her father was a hero, so she grows up knowing exactly who he was and why she should be proud of him.”
Now seventy years old, Ana recently appeared on Spanish television, where she spoke about the complicated mix of joy and sorrow she carries while raising Anita and grieving Aless at the same time.
“My home is full of toys and stuffed animals,” she said with a warm smile, according to The London Evening Standard. “I even have a little ball pit, and she makes me jump in with her.” Still, as Anita gets bigger, some parts are becoming more physically demanding. “Lifting her is getting tough on my back,” she admitted.
Looking back on the devastating moment of Aless’s diagnosis, Ana spoke openly about the disbelief that came with it. “We go through life assuming we’re untouchable, that nothing bad will happen to us. Then suddenly, at twenty five years old, someone tells you that you have an aggressive cancer. That’s not something you expect at that age.”
She also shared that raising Anita has brought new fears she never felt when Aless was little, shaped by the trauma of losing her son.
Ana’s decision to have a baby through surrogacy drew widespread discussion, not only because of the unusual circumstances but also due to the fact that surrogacy is prohibited in Spain. Anita was born in the United States, and Ana later completed the legal process to adopt her, making her Anita’s official guardian.
In earlier interviews, Ana has been open about the profound grief she lived through after losing Aless, saying she felt “dead for three years.” She said that Anita’s arrival was the first time she felt a spark of life again.
In her latest interview with ¡Hola! for Anita’s second birthday, Ana said, “I know I will never feel the kind of happiness I had when Aless was here. That is gone forever. The pain doesn’t disappear. You don’t accept or overcome the death of a child. You simply learn how to exist with that pain.”
“But thankfully, Anita fills my days now,” she continued. “From the moment Aless died until Anita was born, I felt like a part of me had died too. Her arrival has been a breath of fresh air.”
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