Gilpin and her husband, Christian Vincent, did not have an easy path to parenthood. When they finally got the news that they would be welcoming not one, but two children into their family, they were ecstatic. "Finding out we were going to be parents was one of the happiest days of our lives," Gilpin told People. In May 2004, they became parents to twin girls, Ava and Stella, via a surrogate mother.
The twins were born shortly after the final episode of Frasier aired, which worked out perfectly for Gilpin. After working hard on a network sitcom for a full decade, she needed some time off. She decided to take a break once Frasier wrapped so that she could stay home with the twins and enjoy being a mother. Even though it was a huge life change, Gilpin had lots of fun preparing for motherhood and approached the surrogacy with a sense of humor — she showed up to her baby shower with padding stuffed under her clothes to make her look like she was nine months pregnant.
