Brian Dowling and husband to become parents with sister as surrogate

Reality television star and presenter Brian Dowling has revealed he is expecting his first child with his husband, Arthur Gourounlian – and his sister is his surrogate mother

Brian, 43, and Arthur married in 2015 and revealed via social media that they were expecting with a sweet post thanking Brian’s sister, Aoife.

He told his 120,000 followers the news with a wonderful video montage.

He said: “It completely fills our hearts to be able to reveal we are pregnant…we actually never thought this day would be a reality for us. We fully realise and understand how lucky and blessed we are for this to be happening. For a lot of us out there, and especially people from our community, we have to fight harder and push harder for what others consider to be something that can be achieved easily.

“Arthur and I have been keeping the biggest secret the past few months but it’s put the biggest smiles in our hearts and on our faces. We can’t wait to meet you, hug you, and love you for the rest of our lives ? Baby Dowling Gourounlian is on the way, people.”

He thanked his sister, Aoife, who he said had been through so much over the past few months.

He said to her: “You have gone above and beyond for us, whether it is mentally or physically and you have stayed positive and upbeat through it all. Frome ultrasounds and ovulation tests to numerous conversations about your cycle to those four positive pregnancy tests we took where the three of us hugged and cried with happiness and excitement. Aoife you are an inspiration to us all. You are literally giving us the gift of life. So to you Aoife, thank you and our wonderful egg donor, none of this would be possible without you both.”

The couple has long been open about their dream of becoming parents and recently criticised Ireland’s surrogacy laws, describing them as ‘absolutely ridiculous’.

Are you a same-sex couple living in Ireland? How have you found your journey to becoming parents? We’d love to hear your story, email mystory@ivfbabble.com.