A throuple became the world’s first trio to be named on their kids’ birth certificates.
Ian Jenkins, Alan Mayfield and Jeremy Allen Hodges made legal history after using donated embryos and surrogates to start a family.
After having daughter Piper in 2017, a judge ruled they could all be on the birth certificate.
It was a groundbreaking moment for the polyamorous community and the throuple have gone on to have a son called Parker.
Ian, a doctor from California, told HuffPost: “One of [Jeremy’s] friends offered us the embryos they had left from making their family through IVF but couldn’t use.
“We had the option to adopt the embryos and make the decision to raise a unique family.”
Ian continued: “We did have a slight attention to the fact that our kids might be perceived differently. We didn’t want them to become a target of teasing or bullying or online abuse.
“We’ve had zero pushback from anyone in our professional and personal lives.
“Our oldest now is in preschool, and the other parents and kids are like, ‘Cool! Tell us that story.'”
The biggest obstacles the throuple have faced have been legal ones.
They had to fight to get all three names on the birth certificate – but their efforts have certainly paid off.
Alan told The Morning Show: “The big challenge for us was the legal challenges.
“So with surrogacy you have to have a parentage order from the court, declaring who will be the legal parents.
“At the beginning we weren’t sure that we could all three of us on the birth certificate, so it became a court process.
“We argued in court – it was a pretty interesting, tense courtroom scene.
“At first it seemed we were not going to be granted that, so we asked to speak in court and pled out viewpoint and the judge ultimately changed her mind and granted us legal parentage for our child before she was born.”
Ian has written about the throuple’s experiences in his book – Three Dads and a Baby: Adventures in Modern Parenting.
He hopes the story will show others that traditional family life isn’t the only route that works.
The polyamorous man added: “We wanted everyone to know that love makes a family and families may look different but if you care about your kids and you’re doing everything you can to give them the best possible childhood – that’s what matters.”
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