Proud mum, Linda Fruits, 33, has welcomed a new baby with her partner, Maddy Gross, 36, But baby Arlo, has had an unusual journey into the world – as he was conceived using Linda’s ex-husband’s sperm.
Now, Linda and Maddy live under one roof with their son – born just one week ago – and Linda’s ex, Christopher Haerting.
Linda and Christopher also share two children, Elliot, four, and Owen, two, who also live in the family home.
Linda said: ‘I feel relieved that [Maddy and Arlo] are both, safe and happy.
‘We are trying to get in naps whenever and wherever possible, so Christopher is getting some alone time with the boys and taking them on the weekends to do fun things when we need a nap.
‘We are taking it day by day to see what we all need at any given moment, and can all in Grandma for backup as needed.’
Linda, from Florida, US, was married to Christopher, 36, for eight years.
They struggled with a ‘sexless’ marriage after their second child was born in 2020, until Linda realised that she was attracted to a woman while she was scrolling through TikTok.
Linda and Christopher had decided they wanted to remain a family unit after she came out to him in August 2021, even though they were going to have to break up.
Their relationship ended, and she met her now-girlfriend Maddy, in November 2021.
Linda and Maddy were soon inseparable, and Maddy soon moved into the family home.
Christopher said: ‘It was still difficult from time to time, but we talked through our emotions all of the time, and this helped a lot.
‘We both knew that our kids are the most important and being able to see them every day was more important than dividing our family and honestly, making things more complicated on ourselves.
‘Most couples whose romantic relationship ends, need to get away from each other to move on or because it’s toxic.
‘We found a way to move on while still co-parenting and living together, and it’s been great.’
When they split up, they told their sons that they would still be a family forever, no matter what, that they would always love them.
They told the boys they would be raising them as ‘best friends’ instead.
‘They were so young,’ recalled Linda, ‘and didn’t seem to care because they still had both parents under one roof.’
But Maddy also shared her desire to be a parent, and so the couple asked Christopher if he would consider being their sperm donor to expand the family.
‘It was definitely not an instant yes [when I was asked to be a sperm donor],’ says Christopher.
‘I had a lot of questions for each of them that I needed answered before I felt comfortable with it.
‘My biggest non-negotiable was that I wasn’t comfortable being just a donor. I wanted to be the father/co-parent and legally on the birth certificate.
‘Other than that, I wasn’t and am not worried about everything else. We will figure it out. I know that we will all do what’s best for our kids.’
Baby Arlo was born just last week, and his siblings are loving being big brothers.
‘The family is doing great – the boys are so excited,’ Linda said.
‘They ask where the baby is as soon as they walk in the door, pick them up from school, cry over who gets to sit next to him in the car, it’s adorable.
‘They were so excited to meet their brother. They are so in love with him, they say it multiple times a day.
‘I had one job, when the baby came out it was to announce the gender.
‘I was so excited the baby was here, and my girlfriend was safe that I completely forgot, and it didn’t even matter.’
Now, the family continue to thrive, focusing on their children.
Linda said: ‘We continue to have little age-appropriate updates [with the boys], again to give them the context, so they don’t come up with the wrong ideas.
‘The last conversation we had was about how lucky they are to have so many adults under one roof that love them.’
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