Milo Ventimiglia and his wife Jarah Mariano announced that they welcomed their first baby together – just weeks after losing their Malibu home in the devastating L.A. fires.
The Gilmore Girls alum, 47, recently got choked up as he visited the remains of the property after it was burnt down during the Pacific Palisades blaze.
Mariano – who tied the knot with the actor in 2023 – uploaded a photo to her main Instagram of their newborn’s tiny feet, as well as their dog’s small paw.
‘Houseless, never homeless Welcome back Ke’ala Coral Ventimiglia 1.23.25,’ she began in the moving caption.
‘Jan 7th my family & I evacuated from the Palisades Fire. We lost our home that we were living in & everything we own, as well as our home under construction that we were about to move into.’
Jarah shared that she had been ’38 weeks pregnant’ and ‘done an evacuation only a few weeks prior during the Franklin Fire as well.’
‘I take it as a gift that I was able to essentially do a practice run for what was inevitably to come.’
She then expressed her gratitude ‘that we were able to evacuate from the Palisades Fire in the daytime, when we could feel more prepared & not caught completely off guard in the middle of the night, for example.’
Mariano then told her followers, ‘My family & I are together, happy, healthy & safe, which is truly all that matters.’
‘We are deeply grateful to all of the heroes who help battle fires, as well as care for everyone affected by the aftermath for years to come.’
‘This will be an extended process of rebuilding and grieving for many, but we are feeling optimistic & inspired to welcome all of the exciting newness of our fresh start!’ the new mom positively added.
Jarah continued, ‘A special thank you to all of those who have supported my family & I in this time; friends, family, my birthing team, hospital staff, companies gifting, LA community and beyond. Your love & generosity means everything to us.’
In conclusion, she expressed, ‘Gentle reminder to all, to please allow us this time & space to nest with our newborn in such a delicate phase.’
‘We already have everything we need in abundance & will be back around with updates in our own time. Sending you Aloha + Light always, Jarah Milo Ke’a Duke.’
Last fall in September 2024, the model excitedly announced that the pair were expecting their first child together.
At the time, she uploaded a photo of herself as she cradled her growing baby bump while sitting on a paddle board in the ocean in Hawaii.
Jarah – who donned a bikini as well as a purple orchid lei – penned in the caption of the post: ‘Baby on board!’
Only weeks before Mariano and Milo welcomed baby number one, the pair lost their home in Malibu due to the deadly wildfires that scorched thousands of acres throughout Southern California.
The flames began on January 7 amid strong Santa Ana winds and as of Friday, January 31, both the Palisades and Eaton Fires have destroyed 16,255 structures, per NBC News.
A few days after the blazes started, Ventimiglia got choked up as he returned to the site of his residence – which no longer stood.
The This Is Us star visited the remains of the house where he and Jarah had been preparing to raise their baby.
He also spoke to CBS News about how he and wife watched their home burn down to the ground in horrifying security camera footage. Fortunately, he and his wife as well as their dog safely evacuated before it happened.
Ventimiglia got visibly emotional talking about their loss – which included the crib and ‘everything [that] was set up’ for the arrival of their first child together, per Extra.
About seeing their home burn down with their own eyes, he talked about how difficult it was for them to process.
‘I think there’s a shock moment where you go, this is real and this is happening. Then, at some point, you just turn it off. What good is it to continue watching?’
Eventually, while watching the live footage, he said: ‘We kind of accepted the loss.’
After the fire in the area was put out, he returned to the area two days later. He knew his house was gone but to stand there in person he said it felt ‘heavy.’
‘You start thinking about all the memories in different parts of the house and what not. And then you see your neighbors’ houses and everything kind of around and your heart just breaks.’
The actor also spoke about how his character Jack Pearson on the hit NBC series This Is Us faced a devastating fire in his very last appearance and watched his fictional home burn down.
His character saved his family from a house fire before dying of cardiac arrest caused by smoke inhalation.
‘It’s not lost on me,’ he said about the comparison. ‘Life imitating art.’
Different than his onscreen character, however, he is still here and said he fortunately still has everything that truly matters.
‘We’ve got good friends, and we’ve got good people we’re working with,’ he said. ‘We’ll make do. Wife and baby and dog are most important.’
A number of residents and celebrities lost their homes in the fires, such as Mel Gibson, Paris Hilton, Candy Spelling, Anthony Hopkins and Miles Teller.
The death toll has also risen to 29 – with the Palisades and Eaton Fires nearly fully contained.
