Spanish actress used late son’s frozen sperm to have his daughter via surrogate and raise her as her own

The unusual case of Ana Obregón - a Spanish actress who welcomed her late son's child via surrogacy in 2023 - has re-emerged this week.

The 70-year-old's name was splashed across global headlines that year when it was revealed she'd welcomed a baby girl via a surrogate.

News of Obregón's new arrival was announced in the form of a plush magazine photoshoot, where she could be seen posing alongside the tot.

Fans were immediately blindsided, however, by the revelation that the child was not hers, and belonged instead to her deceased son.

The television presenter's decision to welcome the newborn was spurred by 27-year-old Aless Lequio García's tragic death.

He passed away in May 2020 following a cancer diagnosis.

Obregón lost her son in 2020 (Instagram/@ana_obregon_oficial)

The heartbreaking loss prompted the telly star to take a step back from the entertainment industry.

And three years after Lequio's death, she fulfilled a promised she'd made to him during his darkest days.

Speaking to her local news outlet Hola! in the months after giving birth, she opened up on the connection she'd formed with the child.

"This baby girl is not my daughter, but my granddaughter," Obregón announced.

"She is Aless’ daughter - and when she grows up I will tell her that her father was a hero, so that she knows who she is and how proud she should be of him."

The on-screen star went on to reveal that she'd named the child 'Anita', and disclosed that her decision to have the baby girl was made 'the day my child went to heaven'.

Obregón told the publication that Lequio had always wanted to father a child, but was sadly unable to tick parenthood off his bucket list before his devastating passing five years ago.

Obregón welcomed her new addition in 2023 (Instagram/@ana_obregon_oficial)

She previously explained: "What people don’t know is that this was Aless’s last wish: to bring a child into the world."

According to Sky News, the heartbroken mother revealed that, prior to starting treatment, she was encouraged by medics to store some of her son's sperm. She did so, in a New York fertility facility.

Obregón added that a surrogate mother was used to conceive the child.

Such pregnancies are banned in the family's home nation - however, if conceived in other countries, these subsequent births can then be registered in Spain.

Speaking to press in 2023, Obregón also went on to detail the ways her family's new addition, Anita, had changed their lives for the better.

"The only thing that has allowed me to continue living every day, every second, is to fulfil the mission of bringing Aless’s daughter into the world," she continued. "I’m happy! Surrounded by diapers, bottles, all pink, full of bows and smelling like perfume, how wonderful!"

Anita turned two last month (Instagram/@ana_obregon_oficial)

In a first birthday post shared last year, Obregón shared a number of snaps of Anita, thanking the toddler for 'filling my heart with light, immersed in the deepest darkness and mutilated by immense pain'.

She added at the time that her granddaughter looks at her with the 'same love that your Dad looked at me', adding: "No one had ever looked at me that way."

Last month, Anita celebrated her second birthday - not long after Obregón celebrated her 70th.

Following the milestone, the family's bizarre case once again emerged on social media, with a mass debate taking place on Instagram.

Commenting on Obregón's behaviour, some admitted they saw no fault.

"I don’t think this is too weird. She didn’t use her egg. She used someone else’s," one confessed. Another added: "If I lost my adult child, I would consider fertilizing and adopting their child. Idk man. I love my kids. Can’t imagine losing any of them."

Others, however, seemingly couldn't get their heads around the prospect.

"Yeah this is unsettling, I don’t care what anyone says," one noted. Another continued: "It’s slightly creepy."