"But when I would see the surrogate, my first instinct, my first reaction would be jealousy, because she was doing what I wanted to do"
About this Quote
The line is built around repetition that sounds almost like a confession under oath: “my first instinct, my first reaction.” She’s not defending herself; she’s insisting on the body-level truth of the feeling before social niceties can sanitize it. Then she makes the jealousy legible. It isn’t petty resentment toward another woman so much as grief with a target. The surrogate becomes the walking proof of an experience Tiegs wanted as her own, a live reenactment of a desire she can’t directly fulfill.
Culturally, the quote sits in the messy intersection of celebrity motherhood narratives and reproductive technology. Surrogacy is often framed as a clean solution: modern, empowering, transactional. Tiegs exposes the emotional remainder that doesn’t fit the contract. “She was doing what I wanted to do” is the subtextual sting: pregnancy as a symbol of legitimacy, agency, and even identity, not just a biological process. The surrogate isn’t merely helping; she’s temporarily inhabiting a role Tiegs may feel she’s been denied, which makes the relationship intimate, unequal, and psychologically combustible in a way polite conversation about “options” rarely admits.
Quote Details
| Topic | Mother |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Tiegs, Cheryl. (2026, January 15). But when I would see the surrogate, my first instinct, my first reaction would be jealousy, because she was doing what I wanted to do. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/but-when-i-would-see-the-surrogate-my-first-169312/
Chicago Style
Tiegs, Cheryl. "But when I would see the surrogate, my first instinct, my first reaction would be jealousy, because she was doing what I wanted to do." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/but-when-i-would-see-the-surrogate-my-first-169312/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"But when I would see the surrogate, my first instinct, my first reaction would be jealousy, because she was doing what I wanted to do." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/but-when-i-would-see-the-surrogate-my-first-169312/. Accessed 11 Feb. 2026.
