As Black men and active members of their church in Nebraska, Mario and Monte Foreman-Powell used to hide their relationship for many years.
“You just didn’t put that out in the public,” Mario said of his attraction to Monte.
When they met in 2013, Monte had already come out to his family, but Mario was still in the closet. After a few months of dating, with Monte by his side, Mario came out to his conservative mother. Now, they’re out, they’re married, and as they reveal on the latest episode of GWK the Podcast, they are excitedly awaiting the arrival of their first baby; a girl whose middle name will be an homage to both their moms.
“Our moms actually [threw our gender reveal party] together,” Mario said on GWK the Podcast Season 2 Episode 9; part 2 of their story. “It was a pretty cool experience. They’d met like two times before that.”
“I was surprised they could keep the secret for so long!” Monte added.
Mario and Monte first appeared on the Ellen DeGeneres Show on NBC in March 2021, where they shared their story of wanting to become dads. As tends to happen on the Ellen Show, the husbands were given $20,000 and lots of essential baby items like cribs and toys.
They were also approached by several women offering to be their surrogate carrier. But they decided to go with someone they knew personally; a friend’s cousin, who offered to be their altruistic surrogate to help make their dreams come true.
They opted to try an at-home surrogacy kit, and as they explain on GWK the Podcast, the first time was the charm. So far, they said their pregnancy has been an exciting but stressful experience for the dads-to-be.
Apart from preparing the baby’s room and preparing themselves, they’ve also had to sign legal contracts with their surrogate, and research all kinds of insurance policies as they await the birth of their daughter.
“Our personal insurance, they don’t cover it until the baby is born,” Monte said. “Luckily our surrogate has amazing health insurance, so they’re going to cover most of it, but anything dealing with the actual pregnancy is either on us or on the surrogate’s insurance. That’s been the biggest hurdle.”
As two Black dads-to-be, Monte said they’ve received lots of messages from other gay Black men who are hoping to become fathers as well, and have been inspired by their story.
Follow along with Mario and Monte’s journey to fatherhood on GWK the Podcast, available below, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
