Erin Andrews’ father shared heartwarming message about daughter’s ups and downs

Erin Andrews’ father, Steve, shed light on how his daughter has managed to stay strong and resilient in the face of cancer, privacy issues and a miscarriage

Erin Andrews’ father, Steve, pulled back the curtain on the myriad of obstacles that her daughter has overcome during a heartwarming on-air tribute.

Since becoming a household name thanks to her broadcasting work for ESPN and FOX Sports, Andrews has battled cancer, privacy issues and a miscarriage all while in the public eye.

While making an appearance on TODAY with Jenna & Friends back in August, Steve shed light on Andrews’ incredible resiliency in the face of life’s challenges. In 2008, a stalker named Michael David Barrett secretly filmed Andrews on more than one occasion through a peephole while she undressed in her room at hotels in Nashville and Columbus.

“The whole stalking incident was just emotionally devastating for her,” Steve conceded. “It was terrifying because we didn’t know who this was, how it happened, whether she was safe. That was the big question.

“Her sister called me a day or two after it happened. And she asked, ‘Is she okay, is she safe, Dad?’ And I said, ‘I don’t know. I really don’t know.’ I had volunteered, I’ll go on the road with you wherever you are. I’ll be with you 24-7, whatever you want. I mean, what do you do? You try and get through it.”

After conceding that he did alter the peepholes while testifying in a civil trial, Barrett was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison for interstate stalking. Andrews, meanwhile, was awarded $55 million from a 2016 lawsuit against him and the companies that managed the Nashville Marriott hotel where she was recorded.

Later that year, Andrews faced another challenge once a routine annual exam discovered that she had cervical cancer. “She was at our house and she got a phone call from her doctor and the doctor told her that she had an abnormal test result. And she was a little panicked,” Steve recalled.

“My wife and I said, ‘Don’t worry, it’s not unusual. You go back, you’ll have another test. Everything will be fine.’ And so she did go back and she had another test. It was scary, listen, to hear your child on the phone calling you and saying, ‘I have cancer.’

I mean, I wanted to cry. I was brokenhearted. You have conversations with your God. As a dad, I just said, ‘Let her be OK. Take me, let her be OK.’ So it was hard.”

Andrews subsequently underwent two surgeries to remove the cancerous cells, the second of which was a resounding success. “After the procedure, the doctor said, ‘I want you to just take it easy. Lay in bed for the next four or five days,’” Steve added. “And she’s like, ‘No, I can’t do that. I’ve got a game this weekend. It’s in Green Bay. The Cowboys are playing the Packers.’

“And so I thought she was a little crazy, but OK. After the Green Bay game, I got a phone call from Erin and she said, ‘They got it. I’m cancer free.’ And I just, you know, that was just such a relief.”

Then in 2023, Andrews experienced “10 years of hell” trying to conceive naturally before her surrogate suffered a miscarriage as she and her husband, Jarret Stoll, tried for their first child, Mack.

“She might be able to conceive, but there’s no way she was going to be able to carry a baby,” Steve said. “So that’s when they thought, OK, let’s let’s use surrogacy. Within a matter of weeks, she had miscarried.

“We were heartbroken for them. And then down the road, they tried it again. You know, she called us and said, ‘You guys want to come out?’ And we’re like, ‘We’re going to be grandparents. Oh, my God. We flew out there and she brought home Mack. And, I mean, he’s just been the light of our lives for the last two years.”

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