This article is part of our family feature series with Circle Surrogacy, a surrogacy agency that has been helping LGBTQ+ singles and couples realize their dream of parenthood for the past 20 years.
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Husbands Matt Ottaviani and Rej Gareau met in Boston in 2013 via OKCupid. A couple years later, the two returned to get engaged in Fenway Park. And in the latest chapter in their fairytale Beantown romance, it’s also where they would begin the process of becoming dads with the help of Circle Surrogacy.
It was a romantic beginning to the rest of their life together.
About a year after their marriage, they began to discuss seriously the possibility of becoming dads.”We obviously know it isn’t a quick process, and we wanted to the get it started as we were a little older,” explained Matt.
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Rej and Matt, who were 38 and 34 at the time, began to consider their options. They had a lot of great connections to Circle Surrogacy in Boston, including friends who had previously worked with them. They also liked that it was an LGBTQ+ centered agency. Plus it was a nice little harmony to their own relationship, beginning their fatherhood journey where they met. They reached out to Circle in 2017.
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Their journey progressed without any hiccups. They worked with a surrogate they adored and with whom they established a truly wonderful bond. They also had the opportunity to meet with their egg donor who lived in Toronto when they visited for Pride. “We felt really lucky to have these two amazing women in our lives,” said Rej.
Both Rej and Matt have very supportive families, but they decided to keep their journey to themselves till they were far along in the pregnancy. It also made for a wonderful announcement at Rej’s 40th when they shared the news with their loved ones. Needless to say, the room was abuzz with love and excitement after the news was shared.
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They stayed in close contact with their surrogate throughout the journey and went to St Louis to see her just before the birth. Their daughter Andy was born in November 2018 and the dads were in the delivery room ready to welcome her. Matt cut the cord and Rej held Andy first.
The dads have embraced fatherhood and are excited to share their lives with Andy. So far, she has been an excellent sleeper, and a very relaxed baby, much to the dads’ delight. Although Matt and Rej don’t know many other gay dads in Ottawa, their friends have risen to the occasion and are displaying all sorts of incredible “guncle” skills. They have taken on babysitting duty, they go out with the new family, and come hang with them on a Friday night instead of going to the bar. If ever a child had fantastic guncles, Andy has them! “We love watching our friends with her and having our families be so excited to visit and be with us in this process.”
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Matt and Rej have a full summer of travel planned as a family. They consider themselves an adventurous couple and they want to share their passion with seven-month-old Andy and enjoy their family time together. “I don’t know if there is a single most rewarding aspect of parenthood but seeing Andy laugh and smile when we are being absolute goofballs is pretty close to perfect.”
On fatherhood, Matt says that it was a “very natural next step for us.” And the dads certainly look like naturals.
