Mae Whitman Welcomed Her First Child and Everyone Wants to Know Who the Father Is

We first met Mae Whitman in 1994 when she was just 7 years old as she starred alongside Meg Ryan in When a Man Loves a Woman. She made a name for herself as a child actor and was one of the few to transition gracefully as an adult actor. Her teenage and young adult years were spent on the sets of Arrested Development and Avatar: The Last Airbender, and now, she’s having a child of her own!

Upon seeing her pregnancy announcement, however, many fans are curious about who she’s having her baby with since science suggests all pregnancies need some male biological material, whether we want men involved or not. So is Mae Whitman married or is she having the baby on her own?

Because Mae grew up in the public eye, she hasn’t been very vocal about her private life. When stars like Lindsay Lohan and Amanda Bynes came up at a similar time, they were mobbed by paparazzi, which took a major toll on their mental health and their careers. But Mae stayed in the shadows, sticking to comedic side characters like Ann (“Who?”) in Arrested Development and lying low.

Over the years, Mae has had a few public relationships, most notably with Peter Krause (9-1-1), Canadian actor Dov Tiefenbach, and most recently, actor Landon Pigg, although that allegedly ended in 2014. Rumors also spread that she had a fling in 2002 with Haley Joel Osment, another kingpin in the world of child-acting.

But now, everything suggests that she isn't married and completely single. On the other hand, she could just be keeping any potential partner under wraps so that they have a bit of privacy. While that’s rare in Hollywood, isn't unheard of. She has also shared that she's pansexual, so if she does have a private partner, they could be any gender, which means that the identity of the baby's biological father could still be unknown.

Mae announced her pregnancy on May 13, 2024, in a pic that included her Parenthood costars, Lauren Graham and Miles Heizer. Lauren played her mother in the six-season series, which ended in 2015, and Miles played her brother. Mae and Miles got so close throughout filming the show that they actually became roommates (despite having more than enough money to live alone).

"Lauren Graham is my best friend, and Dax [Shepard] is my family, and Miles [Heizer], who plays my brother, he's my roommate, he lives with me in real life," she told HuffPost in 2015. "We bonded in this way that is so unlike anything I've ever experienced.”

Because she shared her pregnancy announcement alongside Lauren and Miles, people have speculated that Miles could be the father. They’re known besties and although Miles is gay, it’s not unheard of for best friends to decide to co-parent. On the other hand, if he was the father (perhaps using artificial insemination), they likely would have announced the pregnancy together.

The most likely explanation is that Mae either decided she was ready to have a baby and went to a sperm donation center, or that it happened naturally with someone we’ve never heard of.

Further fueling speculation that Miles could be Mae's baby daddy, she named her son — born in August 2024 — Miles. In an Aug. 29, 2024, Instagram post, Mae wrote: "Not to be a Bieber about it but I too just gave birth to our son, Miles. From the moment we heard the first tiny sound out of his tiny piggy mouth we were besotted. He is the kindest, gentlest, smartest, funniest little beebee and he’s our best friend (pretty much exactly like his namesake Uncle Miles @younggoth)."

Regardless of who the baby daddy is, it seems like Mae’s friends are fully supportive of her motherhood journey and will be alongside her to raise the “huge baby kicking [her] insides to filth!”